Spiraling Flames
by thatreaderguy
Summary: The battle in the caverns beneath Ba Sing Se goes horribly wrong, ending up with Azula being flung into a whole new world. Now, in order to find a way home, and to survive in this strange new world she must make a deal with the Hokage of Konoha. In exchange for letting her live in the village and helping her find a way home, she must live with and help care for one Naruto Uzumaki.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my attempt at a crossover between Naruto and Avatar: The last Air Bender. How would things be different if Azula ended up in Konoha and lived alongside Naruto and gave him Training. Would Azula's cold and calculating personality change Naruto, or would he change her? As always, I do not own Naruto or Avatar: The last Air Bender, nor do I own any of the characters. I also make no money or profit what so ever from this work of Fan Fiction.**

**SPIRALING FLAMES CHAPTER ONE**

The sound of lightning thundered through the underground cavern of old Ba Sing Se, drawing everyone's attention. It took only a few seconds for the occupants of the large cavern to realize what had happened. Princess Azula had struck Aang with lighting, while he entering the Avatar state, causing Aang to cry out in pain along with the voices of all the previous Avatars.

* * *

Azula watched the scene with a feeling of triumph, as the Avatars' pained cries rang out, like music to her ears. If what she had learned from Admiral Zhao's journals was true, then killing the Avatar while he was in the Avatar State would permanently end the cycle of rebirth. She could only imagine how much easier it would be to conquer the other nations when they learned that no Avatar would be coming to save them, now, or ever. She watched on as she expected the Avatar's tattoos and eyes to stop glowing and to seeing him fall to the ground, but this is not what happened.

Aang was in terrible pain. So much pain that he wasn't capable of thinking rationally, for that matter, neither were the spirits of the previous Avatars who were attached to his mind and body at the moment. The only two things that the incarnations of the Avatar were aware of, were that they were in excruciating pain and that someone had tried to end the cycle of rebirth. Because they were unable to work with rational thought, they relied on instinct, and instinct told them to get away from the source of the pain, and punish the one who had caused it.

Now it was a commonly know fact that the Avatar could send his mind and spirit into the spirit realm to commune with the beings who lived there. It is less commonly known that in the Avatar State the Avatar could open a way into the spirit world and physically enter it, much like the more powerful spirits could physically enter the mortal world. This is what the combined minds of all the Avatars, running on instinct as they were, decided to do. They were intent on either escaping to the spirit world and thereby escaping the pain, or throwing the one who caused the pain into the swirling mass of energy that made the portal, trapping them there as punishment. The second option seemed far more appealing than the first did.

"**You would try to end the Avatar cycle? You would throw away the worlds chance at balance? For this you shall be locked in the Spirit world forever!**" the voices of the Avatars all but screamed at Azula.

With that statement, the combined spirits of all the Avatars used their remaining strength the incarnations of the Avatar sent a blast of air that carried Azula into the swirling portal, before giving up the last of their strength and falling to the ground.

* * *

Aang woke up sometime later, vaguely aware that he was on Appa's back, flying through the sky.

"Aang" Katara's voice called out. He turned to see her holding him closely. "I was so worried" she cried. "We thought Azula had killed you!"

_"That's right, she tried to end the Avatar cycle"_ he thought. _"But she wont be able to hurt anyone now. She's trapped in the spirit world." _This was Aang's last thought before he drifted back into unconsciousness, feeling glad that at least Azula couldn't cause anymore harm to the world.

What Aang didn't realize was that in the pain induced panic that had caused him and the spirits of the previous Avatars to open the portal to the spirit world, they had opened it incorrectly. Even in the Avatar State opening a portal to the spirit world, so that one could enter it physically took a lot of concentration, something that both Aang and all his previous incarnations, had been lacking at the time. Running on their instincts, they had indeed opened a portal to another world, but it wasn't the spirit world.

* * *

Shinji sat alone at the campfire he and his companions had made and he was bored, so very bored. He had been left to guard the camp site while his companions went and scouted out the surrounding area. Shinji didn't even really understand why they had made their camp here, he knew he wasn't very smart, but it seemed to him that it was really stupid for a group of bandits to camped only a mile outside of Konohagakure. He knew the boss had said that that ninja would never think to find bandits so close to their village, and that as long as they kept a low profile they could steal from the people who were traveling to Konoha. After all anyone who could afford to hire shinobi, had to be loaded with money. Shinji still hadn't been convinced, but when the boss said to do something, it was a good idea to do it.

While Shinji was thinking on this, a swirling mass of blue energy appeared a little ways away from him, drawing his attention. Out of this mass of energy appeared a girl, dressed in an odd from of armor. She seemed young, maybe thirteen to fifteen years old. As a bandit, Shinji had learned how to spot tell tale signs of someone that came from money. Expensive clothing, or armor, well kept hair, clean faces or make up. All these things marked people who had wealth, and this girl had all the signs.

He smirked to himself, maybe camping so close Konoha was a good idea after all. He stood up, drew his sword and stared to walk towards the girl that had fallen on the ground.

* * *

Azula discreetly opened her eyes. She had heard the Avatars last statement. So she was trapped in the spirit world then? Looking around, but careful not move enough to alert anything in the area that she was awake, she took in her surroundings. She had read books on the spirit world, and all the descriptions of the place she had read, mentioned nothing like where she was. The spirit world she had read of, was covered in forested swamps, and surrounded by mist at all times, the area she was currently in was forested, but not with swamp trees but tall leafy trees, the like of which she had never seen before. The ground beneath her was not the kind that would be found in a swamp, but covered in soft green grass, nor was the area covered in mist, but instead was graced by clear air and blue skies.

Was she not in the spirit world? Had she been sent someplace else? Or was this simply a part of the spirit world that had not been mentioned in the books and scrolls she had read? She would have to find an answer to these questions soon if she was to survive. It was then that she noticed the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She tensed her muscles, ready to jump up and defend herself or flee if necessary. If this was indeed the spirit world she would have no access to her bending. If it wasn't the spirit world she would have access, but she would still have to find out where she was.

A sword came into her line of sight, pointed right at her. Holding the sword was a bald man with gruff appearance. He was wearing an odd looking robe, not unlike those that commoners wore in the Fire Nation, but still distinctly different. She waited for the man to make the first move, but she prepared to knock the sword away and jump up at a moments notice.

"Hey there, little hime-chan" the bald man spoke, smirking at Azula. "I don't know how you got here, but if you want to leave in one piece you'll do what I say. Now how about you hand over any valuables you got on you and well talk about how your going to leave after that."

When she heard the mans demand, Azula had to resist the urge to smirk. Spirits had no need of valuables or worldly objects, which meant she was almost certainly not in the spirit world but someplace else. The man had said "Hime-chan." before, a term Azula didn't recognize, but the other words were easy enough for her to understand. Now to see if her bending worked.

Azula turned over and used her arms to push off the ground, spinning so that one of her legs kicked the sword out of the mans grip. As she landed she was pleased to see that a stream of fire had indeed shot out from her foot. She had her bending. Now to find out where she was. Rushing the surprised man, she grabbed him and moving a leg behind one of his, threw him the ground. Summoning some of her blue flames into her right hand she held it close to the man's face.

"Now then. It's a good thing we apparently speak the same language because I have some questions, and your going to answer them. If you don't answer, or I think your lying Ill burn you to ashes as slowly as I can."

The man audibly gulped "look I'll answer what ever you want just please don't burn me!"

Azula smirked, she was happy that shed found a coward. They were always so easy to get information out of.

"whether I burn you or not, all depends on whether your truthful, and I'll know if your lying. Trust me." Azula said. "Now then, first question, where am I? Did that portal land me in the spirit world or someplace else?"

"I don't know anything about spirit worlds or portals, lady, that's Shinobi stuff. But I can tell you that your in the Hi no Kuni, about a mile or so outside of Konohagakure." her frightened captive stammered out.

Azula felt relief now that she was truly able to confirm that she wasn't in the spirit world. But these places he mentioned, Hi no Kuni, Konohagakure, these were places she had never heard of. But he had said something else that caught her attention.

"explain what you mean by 'Shinobi stuff'" she commanded.

"well I don't know anything about spirits or their worlds, but that portal thing you came out of looked like ninjutsu, and the only people who can use ninjutsu are Shinobi."

Storing that information away for later she continued her interrogation. " Now then lets move on to the other things I want to know."

Azula spent the next hour and a half learning everything from the man. She learned that the village she was near, Konoha, was a village of shinobi. She also learned that she could hire shinobi for any number of jobs, including perhaps sending her home. She also came to learn that she was on a continent called the elemental nations, something she found rather ironic considering where she came from. She learned that that she was in one of the five great nations. She had also leaned that Hi no Kuni meant Land of Fire, another thing she found ironic.

Now that she had learned all she could from the man she figured that she could just kill him and be on her way. Hopefully his camp had a map, if not she would head to the ninja village he had mentioned was nearby. As she was about to put this plan into action she felt someone put a metal blade to her throat. Cursing herself for allowing herself to be so distracted that someone had been able to sneak up on her.

"Now how about you let our friend her go little girl, and maybe we'll let you live." said a voice in her ear.

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief when the girl let him go. He was happy that his friends had come back to the campsite when they did, or he would be dead, he just knew it.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was having the time of his life. He was currently exploring the forests outside of Konoha, and he had to admit the forests were pretty awesome. Here he could play among the trees and under brush and get away from the glares and whispers that followed him throughout Konoha. Normally the ten year old boy wouldn't have been allowed out of the village, but he had come up with a way to distract the two chunin guards at the gate. He had set up a smoke bomb trap and set it off where the two guards sat. The guards caught off guard by the attack had been momentarily incapacitated, and Naruto took the chance to run past them. Once the two chunin had recovered they had incorrectly assumed that someone had used the distraction was set off so someone could sneak into the village rather than out of it, one of the chunin had immediately gone to inform the Hokage of the incident. This in turn allowed Naruto to explore the forest for quite a while before he would be found and returned to the village.

The blond boy wasn't aware of just how far he had gotten from the village, but it seemed like he had been running and jumping around forever, and despite his endless energy he was a little tired. He decided it was almost time to head back to the village. Maybe he could play some pranks on the residents who were meaner to him than others. Also if he went back now, Hokage-Jiji might not notice that he was gone and he wouldn't get scolded by the old man.

Turning around Naruto was about to start walking towards the village when he heard a bunch of men laughing. Curious he headed in the direction of the noise and came upon a clearing in the woods. There he saw a peculiar sight, Ten or so men surrounded a young dark haired girl in strange looking red and gold armor. The men were all holding swords and and had the girl trapped on the ground and were talking amongst themselves and laughing at her situation. The girl herself looked furious, and if looks if looks could kill all the men would be rotting corpses by now.

Now as Naruto saw all this, his mind processed the information in a way that made sense the the ten year old. These men were all armed and the girl was not. And although he couldn't hear what they were saying, they were acting like the bullies that picked on him at the academy. He also noticed that the girl was really pretty, and the men seemed to be rather on the ugly side. Adding all this together, Naruto's mind came to the conclusion that this situation was rather like the ones Hokage-Jiji read to him occasionally. These stories always had a beautiful girl, usually a princess, trapped by ugly bad guys, and they would bully her until the hero came to save her, then she and the hero would get a married and live happily together from then on. Naruto noticed that no hero was there to save her, which must mean that he was supposed to the hero. And if Naruto was the hero he would have to save the girl. He didn't really know if he could beat ten adult men, but he had to try. Even if he wasn't supposed to be a hero, he hated bullies. He drew upon his training he had received from the ninja academy, and thought back on his taijustu lessons. He could surprise these men and get the advantage in the fight. So taking a deep breath he rushed into the clearing with a cry of "Ill save you princess!"

* * *

Azula was desperately trying to figure out a way to get out of the situation she was in. She was trapped on the ground by these men and unable to move, unless she wanted to be skewered by several swords. She didn't have the element of surprise like she did last time, which meant she couldn't easily get into a fighting position, and even if she could she wouldn't be able to disarm all the men before they were able to attack her. She was forced to listen as they discussed among themselves what they should do with her. She was under no delusions that simply because she was fourteen years old and they were adults that she would be spared the indignity that many women endured when captured. She knew she had to get out of this situation somehow lest she forced by these common brutes to do something would eternally shame her.

Just as she was beginning to think it was hopeless, and that there was no way out, she heard some one cry out "Ill save you princess!"

As she heard that exclamation, she saw all the men look towards the source of the yell, right as a yellow and black blur flew into one of the men holding her down. The man who had been hit was knocked to ground as a young boy in a black T-shirt and white shorts threw his foot into the man's stomach. As the boy landed on top of the downed man he finished up with a stomp on the mans face, effectively knocking the man out.

Every one in the clearing stared at the boy, wondering what had just happened. Because they had no way of knowing that the boy was a shinobi in training, they were astounded that a child had been able knock out a fully grown man.

The boy turned to face the rest of the bandits and with a determined look that most would find cute, rather than intimidating, said "Leave her alone or I'll beat you all up!"

This declaration broke the trance that bandits had been in, making them all laugh loudly at the boy. The leader of the group spoke up.

"Oh that's funny brat. You may have knocked out that idiot Shinji, but you only managed to do that because you had the element of surprise. You don't have that anymore, and were all armed, and you're not. Besides it's nine against one. Tell you what, because I like your attitude, I'll let you go. So run home to your parents and we won't cut you into pieces. "

Once the leader had said this, he and the rest of the bandits broke out into another bout of laughter. Azula, however, noticed that they were all too distracted by the boys presence and little declaration to hold her down with the threat of their weapons now. Never being one to miss an opportunity, Azula sprang up and blasted the closest man with her blue flames, burning him from his upper body to his face. The mans cry of pain brought the attention of the other bandits to her, but by the time they began to react, she was already sending another fireball into the faces of two more bandits, via her fists.

Forgetting about the boy, the six bandits that were left standing advanced on Azula. She noticed they were being extremely cautious in their advance, that showed that had learned to fear her abilities already. Good. Enemies that were fearful often were easy to manipulate into making mistakes. Sending a fire imbued kick to a man on her left, making him yelp in fear and jump back to avoid the attack, Azula dropped to the ground and swept leg around to send flames at the feet of three more attackers on her right. As the sweeping flames hit their feet and legs they screamed and fell the ground, as Azula rose back up to a standing position and threw a fireball at the man on her right, that had dodged her previous attack. This time the man was unable to avoid the blue fire as it hit him square in the chest setting his clothes ablaze. The man screamed out in fear and pain and fell to the ground and started to roll around trying to extinguish the blue fire that had covered his body. Azula jumped backwards in order to dodge a sword strike by one of the men who had yet to be burned. The man, surprised that his strike had missed, leaned to far into his attack throwing him off balance. Azula took advantage of this and sent kick into his back sending the man to the ground. Turning to the men whose legs had been burned, she saw them struggling to get up, she sent another sweeping flame attack with foot at them, this time aimed at their faces. The attack hit and the men, and killed them almost immediately. Azula looked back at the man she had sent to the ground with a kick, to seem him also trying to get up. The bandit had enough time to look upwards right as Azula sent a ball of blue fire into his face, killing him as well. Turning to the last bandit, the leader, she idly wondered why he hadn't attacked her yet. She got her answer as she saw him trying to pry off the blond child, who had apparently jumped onto the man's back. She watched half way amused as the boy rained punches down on the mans face from behind. The bandit finally succeeded in dislodging the boy from this back and was about to slash the child with his sword, when a knife suddenly lodged self in the back of his neck, killing him.

As the bandit dropped to the ground four figures appeared in the clearing. Each of them were wearing the same outfit, which consisted of gray armor, black pants and animal theme masks. There was something about this group of people that sent Azula on edge. She could tell they were dangerous, very much so. She got the distinct impression that if she made a wrong move they could kill her easily.

One of the masked individuals stepped forward, a woman if the body figure and long purple hair were anything to go by.

The woman spoke in a voice that was only slightly muted by the mask "By order of the Hokage, of Konohagakure, lay down any arms you have and surrender yourself to us. We will take you into custody and you will be questioned as to what happened here,"

Azula tensed, ready to flee or engage in another fight if necessary, when the child spoke up.

"Ah! ANBU-san, please don't treat her like that. She helped me! She was being attacked by these bullies and I wanted to help her so I attacked the bad men. But they were to strong for me, but she saved me!"

The masked woman looked at the boy. "I see. Never the less Uzumaki-san we shall have to take her with us. Even if we don't take her into custody, Hokage-sama will want to speak to her.

Azula narrowed her eyes in thought. She had learned from her little interrogation session with the bandit earlier, that the Hokage was the man who ruled Konoha, the shinobi village. She also had learned that if anyone was able to get her back to her home, it would be a shinobi. Perhaps she could turn this to her advantage and negotiate a way to get home with this Hokage.

Speaking up she said. "I will offer no resistance, and will go with you willingly to meet this the Hokage, as long as I am not harmed. I am not your enemy."

The masked woman nodded and said "Very well. We will escort you and Uzumaki-san back to the Hokage." Turning to one of the other masked individuals she said "Check the others for survivors. If there are any, bring them to Ibiki. We need to know what they were doing so close to the village." The masked man nodded and began looking over the bodies, before picking up the one that the golden haired child had knocked unconscious.

The woman turned back to Azula "I will warn you now, try anything funny, and it will be the last thing you ever do." The tone of voice the woman spoke in left no room for doubt in Azula's mind that they would make good on that threat.

"Don't worry." She replied. "I'll be on my best behavior, I promise."

"Good. Now if you and Uzumaki-san will follow us please." she waited for the boy and Azula to get closer to her, before she signaled her two team mates who had their hands free of captives to surround Azula and the boy. Once they had done so they headed off into the forest.

* * *

The group had led them to a high walled settlement, Konohagakure, Azula assumed. They were led through a rather large wooden gate and down a street full of foot traffic and shops. Azula didn't have much time to observer what the shops were selling or take in any of the sights, as their escort ushered them towards a tower in the center of the village. Once they had reached the tower, they were led inside and up a flight of stairs, to a large set of doors. The masked woman opened up the doors and let their charges inside.

Inside the office was a large desk and behind it sat an aged man, wearing red and white robes. He also wore a odd shaped hat, that was completely red, save for the white cloth that hung down in the back and a small white triangle in the front. In the white space was a form of writing that Azula was unfamiliar with. She also noticed that he had a pipe in his mouth.

"Hokage-sama, I have brought Uzumaki-san as requested, also this woman was with him." spoke the masked woman.

"I see. Thank you Neko-san." the old man said.

Before anything else could be said, however, the young boy rushed up to the old man and began excitedly jumping around.

"Hokage-jiji, guess what, guess what? I was exploring in the woods and I came across this girl in the woods. She being bullied by some bad men, and she was really pretty, so I knew she had to be a princess like in the stories you tell me, so I rushed in to save her!" At this point the boy looked a little sheepish "I was only able to knock one of them out though. The others were going to gang up on me, but then the princess saved me, like I save her! She started doing all these cool Taijutsu moves and she shot blue fire out of her fists and feet!" the boy exclaimed. "She was like fwoosh and boom and wham!" He had started trying to imitate her bending moves, making liberal use of childish sound effects when there was supposed to be fire involved.

The Hokage chuckled. "I see Naruto, I see. Why don't you go wait out side my office with Neko-san here while I talk to the 'Princess'."

The boy, now named Naruto Azula knew, nodded and happily trotted out the office doors with the masked woman before the doors were shut.

Once the doors were shut and the two were alone, the old mans face lost its happy expression and was replaced by a serious, calculating look.

Azula had to resist the urge to gasp. Here was a man who was dangerous, here was someone who had experience in battle, and politics and gave off an air of power unlike anyone she had ever met her father and the Avatar included. This was someone who could and would kill her without a second thought if he deemed it necessary.

"Now then, girl, your going to tell me what your name is, where you come from and why you were so close to our village."

Azula gulped. She would have to be careful, she got the impression that it would be a very bad idea to lie to this man, however, perhaps telling him the truth would also be a bad idea as it seemed rather unbelievable. So if the truth and lying were both out, a half truth might work.

"Azula, and I was traveling in the area, to visit this village actually. On my way here I was ambushed by a group of bandits, when the boy jumped in and saved me by distracting them. As for where I came from, lets just say it's a far away land."

Barely had Azula finished her sentence when she felt an enormous pressure hit her. It felt like she was being threatened by a god or a demon. The pressure itself made her want to throw up and kill herself just to rid of the horrible feeling. But just as suddenly as the feeling appeared it was gone, still leaving her gasping for air, as she had momentarily forgotten how to breathe.

The Hokage spoke in tone that was filled with danger. "You must not have much experience with shinobi, girl. There is an old saying 'The only people who can keep secrets in shinobi village, are the shinobi that live there.' This saying has a surprising amount of truth. You gave me, at best, a half truth just now. Do so again and I will have you tortured for the answers I want. What you just felt was my killing intent. It easily incapacitated you, so don't think that I would be incapable of capturing you and taking you to the torture and interrogation department. Now lets try this again. What is your name, where do you come from and why were you so close to our village?"

Faced the prospect of torture, and the overwhelming power of the man before her she had no choice but to tell the truth.

"I suspect you won't believe me but, I'll tell you. It all began when I was fighting an enemy of my country. A man called the Avatar."

So she began the tale of the events that had happened recently. By the end of her story she expected the old shinobi leader to have sent off to be tortured for telling such an unbelievable tale. But the old man stood up and walked over to the window in the room. Looking out a the village he said "Your right, normally I would never believe such preposterous story, were it not for two things. First is that you already saw I'm more than capable of capturing you and telling if you are lying or not. The second reason why I believe you is that, fortunately for you, this is not the first time this has happened."

Azula's eyes widened. This had happened before? How? When? As if sensing her thoughts the Hokage spoke again.

"About three hundred years ago, before this village was formed, one of our founding clans encountered a young man who appeared in our world much like you did. I don't know the details of how he got here, but I know that his name was Ling, I believe the records say he was from someplace called the Fire Nation."

Azula couldn't believe her ears. Ling? Fire Nation? That was too much to be a coincidence. One of the greatest mysteries of the Fire Nation was the disappearance of Crown Prince Ling some centuries back. He had vanished, seemingly into thin air, one day and had never been found. It was common for young archeologists, or budding historians to go in search the Lost Prince's body or tomb. It was also just as common for con men to say that they had found evidence of his whereabouts. If Ling had indeed landed in this world like she had, it would explain why no one was able to find him, despite all the efforts of the royal family at the time. It also meant that either he had not looked for, or never found a way to get back to their world.

Once again the old man seemed to sense her thoughts and spoke.

"You said that you were hoping to come to us to find a way back to your world. Well I'm sorry to say that, currently at least, we have no Jutsu that could send you back to your world. Now, that doesn't mean we wont be able to create one in the near future, especially if I make it a priority to do so. However, their would be the matter of payment to contend with, seeing as you have no money in our currency, let alone enough to pay for such high ranking job."

"I'm the princess of the Fire Nation. Once I get home I could pay you then, and establish a trade rout between our two worlds and thereby making and exchange rate then." Azula suggested. The idea sounded far fetched even to her, but she was desperate to get home, she had a war to win and a throne to gain.

"That would not be possible. Even if we sent you home, we have no guarantee that you would keep your word. For all I know you could simply cut the connection between our worlds somehow and we would be left without compensation for all of our work."

"This is a warrior village right? That's what you shinobi normally do right, fight wars for people and your countries lord? I'm a skilled fighter, I could fight for you and go on missions as compensation." She suggested

The Hokage inhaled from his pipe before blowing out a puff of smoke. "That won't work either I'm afraid. As a rule we do not allow outside forces to fight for us as mercenaries, no matter the situation. We have allied ninja villages to help us in battle, but mercenaries have no guarantee of loyalty to our village, and they take missions away form our own shinobi that need the pay and experience."

Azula felt her frustration growing. "Then what if I seek help from another of the villages?"

At this question the Hokage smirked around his pipe, making Azula frown. "I'm sorry, but without any money, and no way of gaining enough quickly or effectively, the other villages wouldn't even give you a second thought. Moreover they wouldn't believe your story like I do, as they do not have access to the clan records of the events of three hundred years ago. For that matter they're far less trusting than Konohagakure, and wouldn't hesitate to kill or lock you away for telling what they would believe to be a lie. So I'm afraid that we are your only option."

Azula felt her frown deepen. This man wanted something, she was sure of it. He had purposely let her expend all her options for payment, before making it clear that only he and his village could or would help her.

"Very well, Lord Hokage, what do you want from me then. What can I offer you in return for your help?" She all but spat out.

The Hokage chuckled. "Direct eh? Very well I'll be direct then as well. I mentioned before that a man came from your world. The clan that found him was the Senju clan, one of our founding clans. Normally clans are allowed to keep records and histories and techniques too themselves, save for those that would prove dangerous to the village as a whole. In this case, however, our First leader the Shodaime Hokage Hashirama Senju, felt it important that all the Hokage that came after him would have access to this particular record in case it ever happened again. He also felt it important, because it also pertained to one of our closest allies at the time." He stated.

He paused to look at Azula, seeing her take in the information and wait to see what it had to do with her situation. Seeing her remain silent he continued on.

"You see when Ling was discovered by the Senju, he was taken in by them and lived among them. He eventually married a member of the clan, and he and his family formed their own clan, known as the Uzumaki. That was over tree centuries ago, long before the founding of our village. The Uzumaki clan became famous for their power over fuuinjutsu, the art of sealing. With it they could do anything, paralyze their enemies, set powerful and complicated traps, even able to seal away being of great and unimaginable power. How ever this fame, brought with it great fear. The enemies of the Uzumaki clan banded together and destroyed them several decades ago, despite our alliance with the clan, our village was unable to do anything to help. We were able to protect the granddaughter of the clan head, who was living here in Konoha though. She died almost eleven years ago, after giving birth to a son. The boy you met earlier today."

Azula's eyes narrowed. She could already see where this was going. " let me guess." she said. "you want me to look after the boy?"

"That is correct. You see due to certain circumstances of his birth, he is often hated and mistreated by the people of this village, and eve though he is an orphan he had to removed from the orphanage and placed in his own apartment. Because the same circumstances no one has been willing, or able to adopt him."

"I see." Azula replied. "Since you want me to look after the boy I feel I should know what these 'circumstances' are then." It was only fair she felt that she know what she was getting into if she agreed to this deal.

The Hokage's face took on a look of absolute severity and authority. "Know this, girl, what I'm about to tell you is a secret of the highest order. If you speak of it to anyone who is younger than twenty, or tell the boy, or tell anyone from outside the village this information, I will know. And I will have you imprisoned, and tortured to death over quite a long period of time. Do you understand?"

Azula nodded to show that she did. She didn't trust her voice as she was struck a the same fear that had gripped her earlier.

"Very well." said the Hokage. "On the night he was born, a great demon, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or Nine tailed fox, attacked our village. The man who was my successor, the Yondaime Hokage, battled the beast but was unable to kill it. So instead he sealed it away within Naruto. His last wish, was for the boy to be seen as a hero, however, the fear of the beast and the sorrow of the losses we suffered that night have led most of the population to see Naruto as a monster. So the vast majority of the population shun him, and often ignore his very existence, I have no doubt they would try to hurt him, had I not made the penalty for harming him, death. Make no mistake though. The boy is no demon, he is a human as you or I. He is not the first person to have a demon held in them, nor will he be the last."

Azula, was utterly stunned. This was quite a lot to take in. That hyperactive, foolish, and overly happy boy she had met in the woods held a demon inside of him. Had she been told this in any other situation, by anyone else other than this terrifying man she would have laughed at such a ridiculous story.

Still half in shock she looked at the aged shinobi leader and and asked him the first question she thought of.

"Can he use the demons power?"

The Hokage considered his next words carefully "He may have access to the Kyuubi's power later on in life. Most Jinchuuriki, like him are used as super soldiers, army killers and the such. They are trained to use the power of the demons within themselves, to increase their strength, speed, and healing to god like proportions. I do not plan to have Naruto trained to use his demons power for some time though. I want him to have as normal a childhood as he can, or at least whats left of it." he said.

"I understand." Azula said, filing away the information for later. "So if I agree to look after him and live with him, you will help me get home?"

If you agree, I will have my best fuuinjutsu, and ninjutsu masters search for a way to get you home. They wont be able to work on it at all times, but I will see to it that they do devote quite a bit of time to the task."

Azula thought about it, she had no idea what this new world was like, other than what she had already seen. She did know, however, that she was woefully unequipped to survive in it at the moment.

This deal was not, what she had in mind for a type of payment, nor was it particularly appealing, but it was a way to get her home. It wasn't like she had many options at this point either.

"very well I accept. I will look after the boy for as long as I am here and your men look for a way to get me home."

The Hokage smiled. "Oh good. I was afraid your were going to refuse. I would have had to have had you either killed, or a memory eraser seal placed on you had you refused. We cant have someone wander our world if they know our greatest secrets and hold no loyalty to us."

this statement made Azula glad that she had indeed accepted, but it also made her rather angry.

"Now then," the Hokage said. "I'll list you as a citizen of Konohagakure, under the name of Uzumaki Azula. I'll move you and Naruto into a larger house than the one he's currently living in. I will also see to it that all your living expenses are taken care of until he becomes a ninja or you are able to find a paying job. Your a bit young, but I recommend that you join the police force. It's made up of shinobi and civilians, and as of recent years they are in desperate need of man power. That combined with a recommendation from me, and I have no doubt that they would accept you." Turning to look at one of the corners of the room the Hokage said "Kuma-san, would you be so kind as to have Neko-san and Naruto-kun come in?

The previously empty corner shimmered for a moment before revealing a man in a hooded black cloak and wearing a bear mask. The man walked over to the door and called the two people in. He then returned to the corner he had been standing in and made a few signs with his hands, and vanished once more.

As Naruto, and the masked woman called Neko entered the room Naruto called out. "Well Hokage-jiji, what do you think of Hime-oneesan? She's pretty cool right?"

Azula raised an eyebrow. This was the second time someone had called her 'hime'. First it was the bandit she had met after being thrown into this world and now this boy.

The Hokage chuckled at the boys enthusiasm. "Your right Naruto, she is quite the interesting person. Your also right to call her a princess. She is the daughter of a king from a distant land."

The boy went wide eyed " Really? I knew it! Someone as awesome and pretty as her had to be a princess! It's just like the stories you used to tell me!"

Azula smirked at the boys praise. She thought it odd that their were some people in her own land that didn't recognize her as the heir to the throne, unless she told them or she was surrounded by her attendants, yet this boy from another world thought it obvious that she was royalty. Perhaps it was the royal ancestry, however distant, that flowed through his own veins that called to him and alerted him to her station. It also explained the boys talent for fighting, that he had momentarily displayed in the forest when he knocked out one of the bandits. It was only fitting that a descendent of the Lost Prince, inherit the innate skill that all the royal family seemed to possess, even her older brother Zuko for all his failings possessed some natural fighting talent.

Azula was brought away from her thoughts as the Hokage spoke again.

"You're right Naruto, but not only is she a princess, she is also a very distant cousin of yours."

If it was possible the boy's look of awe and wonderment only increased. "You mean she is my family?" Naruto all but shouted.

"That's right, Naruto. But she isn't closely related to you but she does share a common ancestor with you. Now why don't you be polite and show her some manners and properly introduce yourself." the Hokage said.

Naruto nodded eagerly before running up to Azula. He gave a small bow, before saying "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. It's very nice to meet you."

Azula gave the Hokage a side ways glance, to see him nod at her. Turning her attention back to the golden blond boy, she gave her own small bow. "My name is Azula Uzumaki" she said, remembering the name that the Hokage had given her. "It's very nice to meet you as well Naruto."

Naruto's smile widened when she said this. He was incredibly happy that not only had he saved a princess, but she was also his distant family.

"Now Naruto, I have one more surprise for you." Said the Hokage, calling their attention back to him. "I'm moving you into a larger apartment now, and Young Azula is going to look after you, and live with you for the foreseeable future.

Naruto's eyes widened once again, and he looked like he had just found paradise. "No way!" He exclaimed. "This is going to awesome!"

"I'm glad you think so Naruto" the Hokage said. Looking towards Neko he said "Neko would you be so kind as lead young Naruto and Azula here back to his apartment, and help them pack his possessions. Afterward I would like you to take them to this address" he ordered handing the masked woman a piece of paper with the proper address written on it. He also handed her a note. " Give this note to the landlord, it explains all he needs to know about the situation and will let him know this is being done by my orders."

Taking the pieces of paper, Neko nodded. "Of course Hokage-sama" turning to Azula and Naruto who was bouncing around Azula excitedly she said "please follow me, Naruto-san, Uzumaki-sama." with that she walked out of the office with both Azula and Naruto in tow.

As the Hokage watched them go he wondered if he had made the right decision by telling Azula about Naruto's secret and making her agree to live with the boy. One thing was certain though, with a proud girl like Azula, and a hyperactive boy like Naruto living together things in the village were going to get a bit more interesting.

* * *

**So there you go, the first chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review, and let me know what you think, and what improvements I can make.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I'm back with chapter two of Spiraling Flames. I'm happy that so many people liked the story. I'll take the time to answer the two questions that people asked, for those who don't have instant messaging. First off this is an Azula X Naruto pairing. It will develop slowly over time. Right now she is fourteen and he is about to turn eleven so they couldn't really start dating or developing an adult relationship yet. Secondly yes Naruto will learn fire bending. He actually begins to do so in this chapter. For those who have concerns about this, don't worry, I'm not making Naruto super powered with his bending, and it will take a while before he can truly use it in battle. with all that said it is time for the disclaimer. I do now own Naruto, or Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor do I own any of the characters belonging to either series. I make no money off of this work of fan fiction. Please enjoy the chapter everyone!**

**Spiraling Flames Chapter two**

* * *

Azula looked at the building in front of her with disdain. She had been left outside the apartment building while Neko and Naruto had gone inside to get his things, leaving her with plenty of time to observe the apartment complex. This is where Naruto, her distant relative, had been living? The building wasn't run down, or poorly built. It appeared to be rather sturdy actually. How it was built or maintained was not what bothered her though. No, what bothered Azula about this building was that it was, in her opinion, unfit for nobility. It was painted with a dull brownish white. The only real color seemed to be the railings around the building, which a brownish red. On top of this, based on the spacing between the doors of the apartments, the rooms were quite small.

This was unacceptable. No one who carried the royal bloodline of the Fire Nation within them should live in a place like this. Naruto may not resemble a member of the royal family at all, but the blood was in his veins. Azula found herself glad, that the ANBU woman had led them here to gather Naruto's possession's and move to a more suitable dwelling, and not to move her into this building with him. While Azula was in no position to complain about her living conditions or spurn any offer of hospitality that was given to her by the leader of this village, she could safely say that had she been forced to live here the apartments would have gone up in flames within a week. She could only assume that Naruto had endured living here, because he was either unable to live anywhere else or because he was simply ignorant of how someone with noble blood should live. It was more than likely a combination of the two. She would have to educate him on such matters at a later time.

She was brought out of her line of thought as she notice the blond boy and the masked woman exiting the building. As they walked towards her she noticed that they did not seem to be carrying any objects or possessions that the boy may have owned.

"Excuse me Neko, but where are all of his belongings? I was under the impression that you led us here to get them." Azula asked.

The ANBU held up a scroll and said. "All of Naruto-san's belongings are in sealed away in this scroll. Using fuuinjutsu for jobs like this makes them easier and faster. When we reach your new residence I will unseal everything there."

"I see." was the only reply Azula gave.

"I will lead you back to the main street before taking you to your new apartment, so that you will be able to find your way to and from the central area of the village." said Neko walking past Azula.

Once they were back on the main street of Konoha, Azula started making note of all the distinguishing land marks between the central area, where most of the stores were, to their destination. It helped that Hokage Tower was almost always visible, so if she ever got lost she could go there and retrace her steps.

When they reached their new apartment complex, Azula decided it was infinitely better than the previous one. It looked much more impressive, structurally, its apartments appeared to be at least twice as big, and it even had some actual color to it. While the light green paint that covered the building would not have been Azula's first choice, it was a definite improvement. This was still not a place she would picture herself or anyone of noble blood dwelling in by choice, it did give off at least some semblance of wealth and importance.

"I must say this place is a vast improvement over the last building complex we visited." Azula said, giving voice to her thoughts.

Neko nodded "That is because Naruto-san's last apartment was meant for civilians. This was built more recently and was made to house shinobi and their families."

This statement seemed to excite Naruto, who had been abnormally quiet. "Whoa! Really?" the thought of living in a place specifically designed for ninja was amazing in the mind of the ten year old boy. If he was lucky, maybe some of the shinobi could help him with his own training at the academy. Even if they didn't help him, living in a place like this encouraged him to train even harder.

"Yes, really Naruto-san" Neko said, breaking him from his thoughts. Turning to Azula the masked woman handed her two sets of keys. "Your apartment number is '210'. I will talk to the landlord about the Hokage's orders and then meet you in the apartment to unseal Naruto-san's things."

Naruto hearing this bounced with excitement. "Come on, Azula-hime! Lets go see what it looks like!" With that statement he ran towards the stairs to find their new living area.

"Again with the 'Hime'." Azula muttered to herself. "What does that mean?"

Hearing her question Neko gave a small chuckle. "Its an honorific, meaning princess. We use honorifics in most cases when we address people. You are a princess so it fits, but it could be used in other situations, involving a woman or girl of noble birth or wealth."

Azula blinked. "Interesting. I shall have to learn more about these honorifics. I suspect that learning what they mean and how to use them will make my life in this world much easier."

Neko gave Azula a nod. "That it will, but for now you best go catch up to Naruto-san before he gets himself into trouble."

"I suppose your right. He seems quite excited to live here." Turning away from the purple haired woman, Azula headed up the stairs and began looking for their apartment and the blond boy who would no doubt be bouncing excitedly outside it.

* * *

Azula did indeed find Naruto outside their apartment, he was not alone however. A man wearing a green vest over a blue suit and sporting a blue bandana over long white hair was standing in front of the boy. The man seemed to scolding or berating the boy when Azula walked up. At first Azula wondered if perhaps in his excitement the younger child had done something to anger the man. She quickly decided this was not the case, for once she got in ear shot she heard part of the man's words to the blond.

"Look, Naruto, I don't know why your here and frankly I don't care. But don't lie to my face. I know full well that you live on the other side of town so you can't try to tell me this is your apartment. If you think this little game will get me to help you with your training your wrong. It's bad enough I have to deal with you brats at the academy, but now your going to bug me on my time off?"

"But Mizuki-sensei" Naruto began, only to be cut off by the white haired man.

"But nothing Naruto! If you keep this up I will have to punish you in class once the weekend is over."

Everything that the man had said so far annoyed Azula. She got the feeling that she would not like this man at all. He seemed to have no trust in someone who was obviously his student, and whats more he seemed angry at the thought of giving his students extra training and help. That really rubbed her the wrong way. While Azula's father had always taught her that she was royalty and therefore above nearly everyone else, he had also taught her to respect her teachers. Likewise teachers were supposed to respect their students, especially those who showed interest in going the extra mile to learn from said teachers. This man's statement flew in the face of that respect. She could tell from the man's demeanor and posture that he was unaware of his surroundings, save for the boy he was yelling at. This likely meant that he was not nearly as skilled a warrior as the others she had met so far in this village. She also did not get the instinctual feeling of being on edge as when she had met the Hokage or Neko. Knowing this she was sorely tempted to give the man a lesson in respect and manners, but she decided that getting into a fight with one of the village's shinobi would not win her any favors with the Hokage or its residents. She decided to take a more peaceful approach.

"You shouldn't judge him so quickly. He really is about to move into that apartment, I know for a fact that the Hokage has provided orders for him to do so." She said as she walked up to stand next to Naruto, stopping the man's rant.

Naruto looked at Azula, obviously happy that she was there to back up his story and defend him. "See Mizuki-sensei! It's just like I said." The boy stated, eager to prove that he wasn't lying.

Instead of of showing any signs of believing Naruto's story, however, Mizuki turned towards Azula with a sneer on his face. "Oh, and I'm supposed to believe that your privy to the Hokage's decisions? You're barely more than a child yourself. I don't even recognize you, who are you anyway, little girl?"

Azula's eyes narrowed in anger. Little girl? Barely more than a child? This man knew nothing about her. He did not know her past or where she was from, yet he would judge her? She had commanded armies, she had gone behind enemy lines with only two others at her back. She had spilled blood on the fields of battle. She was royalty! This man dared to call her a child? Consequences be dammed, she would put this man, this peasant, in his place.

"Who am I?" she asked, repeating his question. She clenched her fists and caused blue flames to erupt around them. "I am someone you should respect. I am someone you should fear."

The words came out as little more than a loud whisper, but they had the intended effect. Her words, laced with menace as they were, and the blue flames engulfing her fists caused the man to take a step backward.

Mizuki's fear was short lived though. He quickly regained his composure and assumed a fighting stance. "So you want to fight, little girl? I am a chunin you know? I'm more than capable of beating down smart mouthed little girls like you" He spat out.

Azula smirked. She loved it when here opponents were so sure of their victory. It made the look of surprise on their faces so much more satisfying when she struck them down. She got into her own fighting stance, ready to attack the white haired man.

Before the fight could begin, however, Neko's voice rang out. "I hope you two aren't causing trouble. I would hate to have to detain the both of you for the rest of the week." The thinly veiled threat was enough to make both opponents stand down.

Azula, sighed inwardly. She would have to wait until another time to teach this peasant manners. Turning to the ANBU she said "Of course not. It was simply a misunderstanding I'm sure. This man seems to be under the impression that Naruto and I are out of place. We both informed him that we are moving into this apartment today, however, he seems to be of the belief that we are lying and are merely here to cause some sort of mischief. We both seem to have lost our tempers in our argument though. I apologize for that." It was the truth. Well everything thing except for the apology. Azula had yet to truly apologize for anything in her life, but she was fantastic as faking them.

"I see." replied Neko. Looking over at Mizuki she said " allow me to clear up any misunderstandings Mizuki-san. These two have been granted the use of this apartment by the Hokage, and are to live together from now on. I was ordered to bring them here and help them move in. Does this help resolve the situation?"

Mizuki looked back at the female ANBU with barely hidden frustration. "It does. Thank you Neko-san. I hope you will understand that I meant no offense, I was simply acting on what I thought to be true at the time. Please forgive me for losing my temper and nearly causing an incident."

"I will note your concerns, Mizuki-san. Please do make sure something like this doesn't happen again. As as a chunin of our village you have an image to uphold."

"Of course, Neko-san. It won't happen again. Now if you will excuse me, I have errands I must run." He replied, before walking past the small group and out of sight.

Naruto, inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told he had no idea how to handle the situation. He had been happy to have Azula defend him, and tell Mizuki he was telling the truth, but he didn't mean to start a fight. He had seen Azula fight off those bandits in the woods, and he really didn't want to see her get in a fight with one of his teachers. He had no desire to be the cause of a fight like that, especially if it got his new room mate in trouble. Still he had to admit that Azula had looked pretty cool when she was facing down Mizuki.

"Come one you two, lets get your things unpacked. Once we do so I'll be on my way." Neko said, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts.

* * *

Once they opened the door the apartment they looked around a bit before unsealing Naruto's belongings. The apartment consisted of Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living area, and a kitchen that doubled as the dining area.

When they unsealed Naruto's things, Azula was surprised to see that he considerably less material objects than she imagined. Being a princess, she had owned quite a few belongings. She didn't have as much as one might think a princess would have, as she valued fighting prowess and power over material objects, but it was still far more than what Naruto owned.

Out of the sealing scroll Neko had pulled a few pieces of furniture and a box of dried food of some sort as well as pots and pans. All in all they now had a table and two chairs, one small dresser full of Naruto's clothing, and one bed. Azula had hoped that they would have two beds to start with as only having one, meant that they would likely have to share a bed until as second one could be purchased. This was a fact that the purple haired ANBU was quick to point out. While Azula was not appalled by the idea of sharing a bed with the younger boy, she wasn't for it either. She wasn't embarrassed about sharing a bed with a boy like some girls her age might have been, as she knew it was out of necessity. It also helped that the boy in question was too young, at the moment, to have thoughts about what could be done with a girl in bed. That being said, Azula was used to having her own bed. She enjoyed having her own bed, it was one of the few places where she could relax and not have to keep up her image of the all powerful daughter of the Fire Lord. She was glad that his bed was easily large enough for the two of them to share comfortably, however, if Naruto hit a growth spurt anytime soon that might change.

Once they had finished moving all the furniture to its designated spot, the three people took a moment to observer their work. It was during this moment that Naruto's stomach decided to make its demand for sustenance known in the from of a large growl. As the other two occupants of the room looked over at the boy he rubbed the back of his head and had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Heheh, Sorry about that. I guess I got kind of hungry." He said before walking over to the box of dried food. Picking up one the packages he said "Well I guess it's time for some ramen."

Azula looked at he package in his hands and asked "Ramen? I'm assuming that is the dried food you have in your hand?"

When Naruto heard this question he dropped the package back into the box and slowly turned around to face Azula. His face was mix of horror and disbelief. "You mean to tell me you have never heard of ramen?"

When Azula shook her head to confirm that she had indeed never heard of it, Naruto visibly took in a deep breath. Turning to the ANBU in the room he asked "Neko-san, is everything that we have to do here finished?"

Looking at the blond the woman the woman responded in a quizzical voice. "Almost, I wanted to inform you both that as this apartment complex was built for shinobi and their families, there is a small area behind the building where you two may train and practice low level techniques. If you wish to practice more destructive techniques or you plan to do intense training, the landlord asks that you use the training ground down the street. Other than passing on that message I was told to inform you that the Hokage will have your first stipend of money by tomorrow, and that you should pick it up sometime then."

Naruto nodded in a somewhat serious manner. "Good. In that case I must take Azula-hime to Ichiraku's as quickly as possible. You are welcome to join us of course Neko-san."

Put slightly put off balance by the intense expression and serious tone that ten year old was using, Neko waved her hands in a defensive gesture. "Thank you, Naruto-san, but I'm afraid that I must report back Hokage-sama."

"I see." The boy said. Opening the door to the apartment allowing the ANBU to walk out, before exiting himself. "Well we will see you another time then. Azula-hime, would you please follow me?"

Azula walked out the door, before Naruto shut and locked it. She was unsure of what was going on, or where this new attitude the boy was displaying had come from, but she was willing to go along with it for now. That being said if he was wasting her time, she would punish him properly.

"Where are we going, if I may ask?"

Naruto gave her a look that said that he thought it should be obvious. It made Azula feel like she were the younger of the two. She didn't like that, she didn't like that one bit.

"We are going to Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, so that you can try ramen." Naruto said as if he were the wisest sage to grace the earth.

Azula felt her anger grow. " And why could I not simply have tried the ramen you had back at the apartment?" She asked, her voice taking a dangerous tone.

If Naruto noticed the danger he was in, he didn't show it. He simply continued walking towards his destination.

Looking over at Azula he said "That was instant ramen. It's okay as far as taste goes, but it's a cheap knock off of the real thing. If you're going to try ramen for the first time, I'm going to make sure you have actual quality ramen."

Azula felt her anger grow a little more. She understood the need to have quality things in life, she was princess after all, but she was also tired and all but spent from her ordeals over the last few hours. She was hungry enough that she would eat anything edible regardless of quality. She also wanted to make prompt use of the bed back at the apartments. It was almost night anyway, they should be getting ready to rest, not going back into the village.

"Listen, boy, if this little excursion you're taking me on isn't well worth it you will be punished properly. I can and will singe your pants off. Am I understood?" Azula growled towards the younger boy.

Naruto looked a little taken aback, but he also seemed to understand what she was feeling. He continued walking onward with her in tow before stopping at a small building. It looked like one of the restaurants one would find dotting the streets in the Fire Nation during festivals.

"We're here." Naruto said. "This will be worth the trip I promise, Azula-hime." As he said he took a step into the small stand and sat down on a stool, before motioning Azula to do the same. Reluctantly she complied.

A girl appeared from the back of the shop. There was nothing really noticeable about the girl. She was of average height and size, had brown hair and wore an apron over her clothing.

"Oh, Naruto-kun! Good to see you." the girl exclaimed. Before turning her attention to Azula. "who's this? A friend?"

Naruto grinned and laughed "Yep. This is Azula-hime! She's a princess from another land. She doesn't have anywhere to go though so Hokage-jiji has her living with me. It turns out were distant relatives too!" Turning to Azula, Naruto said "Azula-hime this is Ayame Ichiraku. She and her dad are some of the nicest people I know,and they without a doubt the best ramen chefs ever!"

"Thanks, Naruto. That means a lot to us." said a voice from the back of the stand. An older looking man walked out to reveal that he was the one who had spoken. He like his daughter was plain looking and had no remarkable features other than this apron and short dark hair.

Nodding in Azula's direction he said "It's nice to meet you Azula-sama."

Azula nodded back. "It is nice to meet you as well."

Naruto chose this point to speak up again "Azula-hime here has never had ramen, so I thought I'd bring her here to try the best ramen there is."

"Well then," said the man "let's get her some ramen. What kind would you like Azula-sama?"

Azula had no idea what kinds they offered, and while she was able to speak the language of this world, she found that their writing was completely different from that of hers, so she could not read the menu. Not wanting to admit she couldn't read, she opted to go with a safer option.

"I'll have whatever Naruto Orders." she said.

"I'll have a miso ramen, Teuchi-jiji!" Naruto stated happily.

"alright, two miso ramen coming right up!" The old man said as he headed to the back of the stand.

Within minutes Azula and Naruto had two bowls in front of the them. Naruto had immediately started digging into his bowl, where as Azula was a bit more hesitant. She stared at the bowl of noodles like it was the greatest mystery she had encountered. It certainly smelled good, it even looked good. But it was nothing like the food the Fire Nation princess was used too. The food she had eaten in her home world were Fire Nation originals which consisted mostly of spicy and flame grilled foods. She had also had the pasty, mushy food that the soldiers were forced to eat sometimes, she'd only had that once, however. Picking up her chop sticks, she decided to brave the unknown and slowly drew the the first mouthful to her.

The two ramen chefs noticed Azula taking her first bite and watched intensely, wondering if she would like their food or not. They watched in fascination as a scene they had only witnessed once before unfolded right before their eyes.

The moment the food touched Azula's tongue, a shiver ran through her whole body. Her eyes dilated, her breath hitched, and her mind went blank. This food, this ramen, it was amazing. She couldn't believe she was only just now tasting something so delicious. How could such a thing not exist in the Fire Nation? The taste, the texture the seasoning were all perfect. She decided that when she returned home, she would offer these two chefs a place in the palace, so that they could teach others to make this wonder. This delicacy would be declared a food fit only for the royal family, she would make sure of it. She now had another thing to look forward to when she returned home.

Azula's brain took three seconds to go through this thought process. Once those three seconds were finished, her body which had gone stiff, unfroze. At that moment all of the manners that had been drilled into her as a child vanished, and she began devouring the ramen in front of her as if it were the only thing that mattered at all in the world.

Half an hour later both Azula and Naruto sat contented with several empty bowls in front of them. Naruto had eaten seven bowls and Azula had consumed four bowls of ramen. Behind the counter of the ramen stand stood a giggling Ayame, and a grinning Teuchi. The old ramen chef sensed that there would be a large increase in his profits soon with Azula around.

* * *

The sun had completely set by the time that Naruto and Azula left the ramen stand. Azula's earlier anger, at being drug out of the apartment by the boy had vanished completely. She had to admit that the boy was right, eating the ramen at the stand had been well worth the trip.

As they walked back down the streets, to their apartment, Azula took notice of how different the streets of Konoha looked at night. During the day the sunlight had made everything seem bright and cheerful, now that night had set in the streets seemed cold and lonely. The moon and starlight bathed the village in calm, but eerie, light.

Their progress towards their destination was halted when three men came out of a building in front of them. Judging by the smell of alcohol on the men, and the fact that one was stumbling around led Azula to assume the building they had come from was a bar or a tavern.

As Azula and Naruto started to walk past the three men, the man who had been stumbling called out. "Hey look. It's the demon brat!"

This statement made Naruto tense up, and stopped Azula in her tracks. She wasn't sure if this would lead to an altercation or not, but she was ready to drop into a Fire Bending stance if needed.

The man's two companions were obviously not as inebriated as he was, seeing as they had the presence of mind to grab the man and try to calm him down.

"Hey, you know that consequences for talking like that. Your close to breaking 'that' law. Look your drunk. So are we, lets just get home before we get into any trouble." One of the men said, trying to guide the man away from Naruto and Azula.

The man seemed reluctant to leave with his friends, but eventually relented and let them take him away. "Ah fine. I'll leave the little brat alone. He's still a monster though." with that statement the three men walked off into the village.

Azula was to see the men walk away. She found drunks distasteful in any situation. This particular incident could have become volatile quickly though. It was obvious that the men held hatred for Naruto, and although the Hokage had said the penalty for attacking him was death, she knew that the rationality of someone who was drunk was limited at best. It also would have been annoying to answer questions about why she had left three charred corpses in the middle of the street. The Hokage would likely not have found such a thing amusing.

As she started to resume her walk to the apartment she noticed that Naruto was standing still. Stopping and looking back at him, she saw he was looking at the ground, as sad and confused expression on his face.

"Are you alright?" Azula asked knowing full well that he wasn't.

"Why?" Naruto asked. "Why do they call me that? I've never done anything to them. Why do they say I'm a monster?"

Azula recognized his facial expression, and his tone of voice. He was feeling the same way she had, when her mother had called her a monster. Sighing inwardly, Azula walked up to the boy and bent down to his level. In an act of compassion, that surprised Azula herself, she reached out and cupped his cheek. Making him look up at her, she looked him in the eyes before giving him the same explanation that she had given herself, years ago, when her mother called her a monster for the first time.

"They treat you like that, they call you a monster, because they fear you. They see that you have power, hidden away inside you. They know that the power you have will outshine all of their own power. This makes them jealous and fearful. Their fear turns to hate, and makes them lash out at you. They will always fear you for your power, and as it grows so will their fear."

"I see." the boy answered sadly. "So that means I'll never have any friends if I get stronger? Why should I be a ninja then? I don't want even more people to hate me."

Azula smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Naruto, don't give up on being a shinobi or a warrior because of their fear. They will grow more fearful as your power grows yes, but you will also find others who will respect and love you for that power. I know what the burden of power is like. My own mother thought I was a monster when I was your age. But I became determined to be even stronger. I found friends that liked me, and people that respected me. You can do the same. Know this, even if all the people in this world come to hate and fear you for that power, I will never do so. I will always respect you for it."

This statement seemed to cheer the boy up. He looked at the older girl in front of him and gave her a smile. It wasn't like the smiles she had seen earlier, those were from excitement and energy. This was a smile of true happiness.

"Thanks, Azula-hime. I promise that I won't ever fear you or hate you either. I promise I'll always be by your side, both because I will respect your power and because your a really nice person." Naruto said this with a cheerful tone, but Azula could tell there was more behind it than just simple joy. His words carried a strange weight to them, the like of which she had never felt.

She was unsure how to react to his words, so she just nodded and stood back up. The two managed to make it back to their apartment without encountering anyone else. When they got to their door they noticed a small package waiting for them. Naruto picked up a note that was attached to the package and read it out loud for Azula's benefit. Apparently it had been left for them by Neko. The purple haired ANBU had taken it upon herself to purchase a set pajamas, and several changes of clothes for Azula. The woman was not sure of Azula's exact size, but based on what she had observed the clothes would work until more suitable ones could be found.

Once Naruto and Azula were inside and had locked the door, they each went to their separate rooms to change. Azula came into Naruto's room, once she was done changing, seeing as they had to share a bed for now. She was wearing a set rather soft looking blue pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt with two dragons on the front; one red and the other blue. Naruto himself was in blue shorts, a plain white T-shirt and a frog night cap.

As Azula looked at the Naruto sitting on the bed she decided that as long as they had to share a bed, there needed to be some rules.

"Listen well, Naruto. We have to share this bed until we are able to purchase one for me, so here is how this going to work. This bed is bid enough for both of us to sleep in comfortably, so you are going to stay on your side, and I will stay on mine. I don't want to wake up and find you rolled on top of me and started drooling on my face. Understand?" The Fire Nation princess asked.

Naruto, recognized that should he break these rules, things might not go so well for him, so he quickly nodded his head to show that he did understand.

The girl seemed satisfied by this. "Good." she said as she crawled under the covers on her side of the bed.

Naruto, feeling a little nervous with the situation, but still not wanting to be awkward or rude, looked over at the older girl and said "Good night, Azula-hime."

Azula, caught off guard by the boys words, hesitated before offering her reply. "Good night, Naruto."

As the two lay in the bed together Azula felt her thoughts drift back to her words to boy when he had asked why he was called a monster. She was unsure of why she had decided to comfort the boy. She certainly wasn't in the habit of helping others. Still something about the boy drew her to him, made her want to keep him from being sad. Maybe it was her own experiences when she was younger that made her want to help him, or perhaps it was a result of their shared ancestry. It was then that she remembered the promise that Naruto had made to her, after she had said that she would never fear him. It seemed like a childish promise, made at the spur of a moment, but his words occupied her mind until she finally drifted off to sleep . Azula was unaware of just how important the boys words would be to her later in her life, or how much of an impact her words had on him.

* * *

When the morning sunlight streamed through the bedroom window it shown on the face of a very nervous, and worried Naruto. He was in a position that he was completely unprepared to deal with. Azula had broken her own rules. During the course of the night she had rolled over and wrapped her arms around Naruto's chest and her legs wrapped around one of his smaller legs. When he had awoken and noticed his position, he had immediately tried squirm out of the princess's grasp, only to find this impossible. The more he tried to escape the harder her arms squeezed him to her. He was getting really worried about what would happen when the girl awoke to find them in this position. She had obviously not wanted any contact with him in the night, although he wasn't sure why.

Naruto was unaware of the fact that he was now one of two people to know Azula's most closely guarded secret, the other person being her older brother Zuko. Yes, despite all of her vicious fighting talent, her cold and calculating mind; despite her aloof and often cruel personality she was extremely clingy in her sleep. Yes, Azula, mighty and feared Princess of the Fire Nation, was a massive cuddler. She had often had stuffed animals to sleep next to when she was younger, and the habit of snuggling into what ever was close to her at night had not disappeared with age. It was one of the reasons for the rules she had given Naruto the previous night. She had thought if they stayed on separate sides of the bed, she wouldn't grab the boy in her sleep. She underestimated her own abilities to seek out warm and comforting objects in her sleep, however, and now Naruto was stuck in quite the awkward position.

Naruto's fears were realized as the girl who had him trapped gave a small groan and opened her eyes. Seeing her face so close to the blonde's head made her blink in surprise a few times. Her expression of surprise quickly turned embarrassment and then rage, however, as she sat up. Naruto, now free from the girl's death grip scooted away from her, and quickly tried to defend himself.

"A-Azula-hime, I swear I didn't break the rules. I stayed on my side of the bed and didn't move at all I promise!"

Azula closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before speaking. " I believe you, Naruto."

Naruto sighed in relief "Oh good. I was really scared you were going to 'punish' me for for a minute." He said, chuckling.

Azula opened her eyes before looking down at him in a positively menacing way. "Oh, your still going to be punished."

"But why?" he stammered out. "You just said you believed me!"

Chuckling evilly, Azula ignited her a small blue fire around two of her fingers. "I do believe you, Naruto. But you know my secret now. I can't let you get away with that. Now hold still and your punishment will be over soon."

Naruto barely managed to dodge the tiny stream of blue fire that was shot his way. "Ahh! No way am I holding still for you. Your crazy, Azula-hime!" With that he ran out of the room, Azula hot on his heels.

* * *

The chase had lasted about half an hour before the two had finally calmed down enough to go to the kitchen and make breakfast, which consisted of ramen, because that's all they had at the moment. Naruto was still grumbling about his frog cap getting burned. by the flame wielding princess. She hadn't ever actually burned the boy, but she did make his clothes end up with quite a few singe marks.

"Don't you have to attend that shinobi academy today?"

Azula's broke Naruto from his inner grumblings about his singed clothes. He looked up to see her staring quizzically at him from across the table.

"No. We have the weekends off from class. I'll have to go tomorrow though." He replied.

"I see. What do you study there exactly?" She asked.

"Oh, lots of stuff. There's the boring stuff like history and math, but we train in lots of cool stuff too. We learn how to use kunai and other weapons, as well as ninjutsu, as well as taijutsu."

"Taijutsu?" Azula was familiar with what ninjutsu was supposed to be, after her discussion with the Hokage the previous day, but she was unfamiliar with what taijutsu was.

"Oh, I guess you could call it hand to hand combat. It's like those cool fire moves you used against those bandit's yesterday! Although my taijutsu is one of the worst in the class. I wish I could learn your fighting style, it was awesome." He said.

"Perhaps you can." Azula replied. "It's a long shot, but all the members of the royal line have been able to use fire bending. It's possible that as a descendant of the royal line you can use it as well." Azula stated. She had to resist the urge to laugh as she saw look of pure glee that appeared on the blonde's face.

"Really? Alright! When can I start learning?" He shouted enthusiastically

Azula smirked. "Hold on. We have to see if you can fire bend first. If so I'll begin teaching you immediately. Now go get dressed and we can head to the training ground down the street."

Naruto was running to his room to change into his day clothes, by the time the words "get dressed" left her mouth. Azula herself walked back to her own room to change. She decided to wear her fire bender outfit, rather than put on the new clothes that Neko had gotten her. She didn't know how this training would go and she didn't want the clothes to get ruined if they were less durable. As she walked out of her room she noticed Naruto bouncing by the front door, eager to go. Walking past him and out the door, she headed to the nearby training ground. Naruto bounced beside her the whole way.

* * *

The training ground turned out to be a small circular area of grass, rocks and a small pond. There were a few trees around it as well. While it wasn't what she used to training around, it would suit Azula's purposes for now. She walked up to one of the trees and plucked a leaf from it.

Walking back to Naruto she said. "What I'm about to show you is a lesson that beginner fire benders learn, in order to increase their control over the element, but it's also a safe way of testing whether you're capable of bending. I'm going to put a small ember into the center of the leaf, and then hand it to you. I want you to focus all you can on keeping the fire from spreading."

Naruto looked at her curiously. "How do I do that?"

"With your will. You must will the fire not to spread. If you are able to control it with your will, the fire will spread, but slowly. If you can't it burn the leaf to ash almost immediately, and it will mean that you are unable to fire bend." Azula said. She noticed Naruto looked a little nervous. It was understandable, many people were nervous when they tried to find out if they could bend. A few were lucky to discover it by accident when they were young, but most had to go through tests. Looking down at the blond she asked "Are you ready?"

Naruto gained a look of determination. "I'm ready. There's no way I'll fail, you'll see."

Azula smirked. She liked his confidence, it spoke of his Fire Nation heritage in her eyes. She also hoped he was able to fire bend. She didn't tell him, but this would determine whether he was truly of royal blood in her eyes. Placing her thumb on the center of the leaf, she ignited a tiny ember in it and quickly handed it to Naruto.

Taking the leaf from Azula Naruto stared at the leaf. Already the center of it was glowing red, and spreading outward. He started concentrating on the fire inside the leaf, wishing, willing it to stop. He stared at the spot where he wanted it to stop spreading, and inside him, he felt a strange sensation. It felt like a pull. No. Not a pull, it was a surge. That was the only word that described this sensation. It was power surging in him.

Azula watched as the fire slowly stopped spreading towards the edges of the leaf. This was astounding. She had hoped Naruto was a bender, although she would never admit it, she wanted the connection that it provide if he could fire bend. Yet, she could never have hoped to see this. Most beginners were only able to slow the spread of the fire. Naruto had stopped it completely.

She reached out and took the leaf from him, and turned it to ash herself. Looking down at the blond she gave him a genuine smile. "Congratulations, Naruto. You are not just a fire bender, but you seem to have an innate talent for it. I've never seen a beginner stop the fire completely."

Naruto's eyes widened, and his face split into a grin. "Yes! I can fire bend! Does this mean we can start training now, Azula-hime?" he asked, his enthusiasm obvious.

Azula nodded "Yes. We can begin now."

Naruto let out a giggle of excitement. "Alright! Now I'll be shooting fire our of my hands by the end of the day!"

At this statement Azula's face took on a more serious look. "Naruto. Listen to me. I am going to train you, but you must follow my every command. No matter what. If you disobey me even once, I will cease you're training immediately and never continue it. Do you understand?"

The boy's face lost its joyful expression, but he gave her nod showing he understood.

"Good." said Azula. "Now I'm going to walk you through the first few forms of fire bending, meant for beginners. Once we've done that, you will start the burning leaf exercise again. Then we will go back to learning the beginning forms, and then repeat."

"What?" he asked confused. "I thought I already mastered the burning leaf?"

Azula shook her head. "You have proven that you have naturally have a great control of fire, but you haven't mastered it. If you're able to do the burning leaf exercise ten times in row, the way you just did it a minute ago I will allow you to go to the next form of control."

"Okay. But how long do I have to spend learning the beginning forms? I want to be able to shoot fire, and fight like you!"

Azula smirked at him. "Until I'm satisfied that you know them well enough to move on. Now watch me, and repeat my actions and motions." She said, getting into a fire bending stance.

The two of them spent almost the entire morning, running through the exercises. Naruto could already tell that Azula would be a hard, and strict teacher, but she would be a good one as well. As he went through the first forms of fire bending beside her, he couldn't help but be glad that she had come into his life, and he hoped that she would never have to leave it either.

* * *

**Well, there you go, Chapter two. I hope you all like it as much as the first chapter. You got to see a lot of interaction between Naruto and Azula, this time around. You also got to see Naruto begin to learn fire bending. there will be more of that in next few chapters. I've obviously tweaked their characters a bit, but I did try to keep them more or less in character. You will see them slowly start to change, however, as their personalities start to affect each other. **

**I had a tough decision to make when I started writing this chapter. I could write this chapter, or I could work on my project for college that's due next week...obviously I picked the more important option :p Anyway, please Review and let me know what you think, and what can be improved. Thank you for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I want you all to know that I really appreciate all the feed back, and support I've gotten from everyone. It's really helped, and it inspires me to write more and more chapters. I also want you all to know that this chapter is going to be a little bit darker than the previous two. You're going to get to see a lot of Azula being...well Azula. She's going to be plotting and scheming (She's good at those) and there will be a fairly dark twist towards the end of the chapter. Don't worry things will get happier again next chapter. The darkness is simply necessary for this one, as it contributes to the rest of the story. **

**Now, time to address various questions and concerns that I have received via review or private message. First off, for anyone who was confused or missed it in the first chapter, Azula and Naruto are distantly related. like super distantly, but still related. this is because three centuries prior to the story, Crown Prince Ling of the Fire Nation (One of Azula's great uncles way up the family tree) landed in the Elemental Nations somehow. He was picked up by the Senju Clan and eventually married a Senju woman. His family and descendants became the Uzumaki Clan. The hokage gave Azula the Uzumaki name both because of this, and because it would act as a good cover. I hope that clarifies things. **

**The next question I wish to address is the color of Naruto's fire. He will primarily use orange fire, but as you will see, he is capable of using blue. his fire will also change down the line, but how and why is something you will have to wait and read about. :P **

**For those who wondered why Azula put up with living like a peasant...well she's in a new world she knows nothing about, with no resources and the only people able or willing to help can kill her at a moments notice. In that situation you take what you get. Beggars can't be choosers.**

**Lastly to those who wanted other girls paired with Naruto along side Azula: I am not opposed to harem fics but I have no plans to add any girls to the pairing. The direction I want to take this story is dependent on Azula being the only girl in the pairing. I'm sorry if this upsets you but it's how things will be, in this story at least. **

**With all that said, disclaimer time. I don't own Naruto or Avatar: The Last Air Bender. I make no money from this work of Fan Fiction and write this purely for fun.**

**Spiraling Flames Chapter Three**

* * *

It was early morning in Konoha. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon and bring warmth to the cool forest air. Naruto and Azula had risen early that morning, so that Naruto could get in some fire bending training before he had to attend the academy. They had gone to the training ground near their apartment before the sun rose. Once there, Naruto had begun to go through fire bending forms and Azula had sat down on a stump and pulled out a scroll, using fire summoned in one of her hands to give her enough light to read it.

Azula looked up from reading the scroll, to look at Naruto. He was going through the second tier of fire bending forms, having just finished learning the first tier of forms to Azula's satisfaction.

"Wrong!" She called out, making him stop in the middle of performing a punch. "Your stance is too rigid. Loosen up, don't feel like you have to anchor your feet to the ground. Fire bending forms involve a lot of foot work. You have to be ready to dodge and move at a moments notice. Think of your self as a flame, constantly flickering and changing. Start the form over from the beginning, and remember to stay on your toes more."

"Right." Naruto called back to her. "I'll get it right this time, Azula-hime."

As he began the form again she continued to watch him for a few moments, making sure he corrected his previous mistake. Seeing that he had indeed fixed his stance, she went back to studying the scroll she held in her lap.

It had been three weeks since she had arrived in this world. Three weeks since she had come to this village, and she started living with the blond ten year old. In those three weeks she had come to learn more about Konoha, and the shinobi world. She had also gone to ask the Hokage if there was anyway that she could learn to read and write in the language of this world. She had found that being illiterate was restricting at best; at its worst it was down right crippling to her interactions with the people of this village.

Fortunately the Hokage had access to a scroll that had been written centuries earlier by the Senju clan when the Lost Prince Ling had come to this world. Apparently the ancient prince had the same issue as she did, and with collaboration with his Senju caretakers had created this scroll that translated the two written languages, allowing them to learned. Azula found it almost too convenient that this scroll had been stored along with the other records of the Lost Prince's arrival in this world, but she wasn't one for looking a gift komodo-rhino in the mouth.

Once she had access to the translations, she found that learning to read the language had been rather easy. She could now read nearly every sign she came across, but there was still room for improvement. Writing had been an all together different story. She just couldn't seem to get the characters to look the way they were supposed to. She had burned many pieces of paper to ash in her anger, when she made mistake after mistake in writing the various kanji.

"I'm done, Azula-hime!" Naruto called over to her.

Looking up once again, she saw him standing, looking expectantly at her, waiting for her to give him the next exercise. She smiled, happy with his progress. The boy had taken to fire bending like a true prodigy. He soaked up the knowledge she shared with him, and he never made a mistake twice.

"Alright then," she said. "I want you to summon fire to your hand. Were going to run through heat manipulation again.

Naruto nodded and held out his hand, palm facing upward, summoning a small fire to float above it.

Seeing him ready to begin Azula said "Now focus on decreasing the heat." She watched as the fire in his hand became a more red color, showing it was cooling. "Good. Now quickly, make it as hot as you can." She commanded.

Naruto's face became a mask of intense concentration, as the flame rapidly changed from red to orange, and then slowly became lighter in color. After a few moments it became a light blue in color.

"Well done." Azula praised. "Now bring down the temperature slowly."

As she watched the blond boy continue the exercise, Azula couldn't help but wonder how great his skill would grow in months and years. He had shown that he could control fire to an extent she had never seen before except in masters like her father and uncle. He had the innate ability to shape fire and make it move to his will. His fire seemed denser, for lack of better word, than that of other fire benders. Increasing and decreasing the heat, was a little bit more difficult for him, but he was improving rapidly. He could already summon blue fire if he concentrated hard enough. Azula suspected that in a few months he would be able to use it with ease, and likely be able to apply it to battle. She thought about how frightening he would be on the field of battle in latter years. While she didn't know all of what his shinobi training involved, she did know it involved leaning how to use and master several types of weapons, including throwing knives. That combined with his natural talent for fire bending would make him fearsome indeed. If what the Hokage had told her was true, he would also be able to access a demons power later on in life as well.

Thinking of the raw potential and power this boy had made Azula shiver. She had learned to appreciate power at an early age, and Naruto certainly had staggering amounts of it. She had already begun trying to think of ways to bring him to the Fire Nation with her when she returned. The village seemed to have alienated Naruto to a great extent, so convincing him to leave might not be too hard. It also helped that he seemed to hang on her every word and action. She didn't know whether this was a result of him finally having found a familial connection, distant as it may be, or if it was something more akin to hero worship. It could perhaps be simple infatuation.

No matter what it was, it would work in her favor. If he wanted family, she could always convince her father to adopt the boy into the royal line officially. Her father respected power, and she was certain that Naruto would be a much better son than Zuko. If it was hero worship, she would play on that to make want to help her in her quest for the throne. If his feelings were that of infatuation, she would feed and increase those feelings until they became love. She make herself seem like the only woman who could understand him, the only one who was worthy of him. She knew of course that if this was the course of action she needed to take, it would mean reciprocating the boys feelings, although that wouldn't be so bad; she could tell even now that Naruto would be quite the looker as he grew older. The only two problems she could think of in her plan were that she had as of yet, no way of deciphering which of these feelings Naruto held for her.

The second problem was the Hokage. The old man seemed to care for boy quite a bit. Indeed he doted on the boy and treated him like a grandson. However, he had also hinted that Naruto would be a powerful asset to the village in later years, likely much for the same reasons that Azula wanted him to go to the Fire Nation. More importantly, Naruto obviously cared for the aged shinobi leader, which would make it more difficult to convince him leave Konoha.

She had no idea how she was going to be able to remove the Hokage as an obstacle, but she suspected she have an opportunity to solve her first problem later on that day. A week ago Naruto had approached Azula rather nervously. He had informed her that the next week the was to be an 'open house day' at the academy. Apparently this was a day when family and friends of the students were allowed to come to class and watch them. The students were supposed to be showing off their skills and knowledge to observers as well as scoring points to add to their over all grades. After Naruto had explained all this to Azula, he had asked if she would like to come watch him, since she was the closest and only relative he had.

The opportunity was too great to pass up. Not only would she be able to possibly decipher the boy's feelings, but she would be able to learn more of the shinobi arts. She knew terribly little of these warriors, other than that they were adept at using stealth and seemed to posses super human powers. She suspected that their power might even surpass those of benders, but she had no way of knowing just yet.

It had also been an opportunity to instill some pride as into the young boy; pride in the Fire Nation, and in his royal heritage, both of which he would need if Azula's plan was to succeed. Upon hearing that he would be showing his skills in front of many of the noble clans of Konoha, Azula had dragged Naruto into town to find suitable clothing for him to wear. She wanted him to wear clothes that would show he was descended from royalty, and at the same time, allow him the freedom of movement in battle. It wasn't that Azula actually cared what the clans of the village thought of her or Naruto, but if he was able to impress them, it would make the boy happy that he wasn't being looked down on. He would then associate this happiness with pride in the Fire Nation and the royal family. This in turn would make it easier for Azula to convince him to come back to her world with her. If this showed the so called 'noble' clans what true nobility was like, that was just a bonus in her eyes.

She had eventually found an outfit that was so perfect for the occasion that Azula had briefly wondered if these events were being guided destiny or fate. The outfit had consisted of a loose pair of black pants, and shirt. On top of those was placed a long flowing robe that was deep red in color and had gold trim. Azula had paid for the outfit to be modified to Naruto's exact size, and also threw in a little extra to have the Fire Nation emblem sewn into the back of the robe in black thread. All in all it had cost them a chunk of their monthly stipend, but Azula thought it well worth the expense.

She knew of course that Naruto would out grow the outfit quickly, but it would serve its purpose for the moment, and other outfits could be acquired later.

Azula took notice of the suns position in the sky, and called out to Naruto. "Naruto, that's enough training for now. It appears to be time to leave for the academy."

Hearing the older girls call, the blond bounded over to her as she stood up and put away her scroll. Heading out of the training ground, the pair made their way through the streets of Konoha. Most people were only just now starting to head out of their homes, so they didn't encounter much traffic on the way to the academy. When they finally arrived they found that they were a little early. Several students and their parents had already arrived and were standing in the school yard. Azula also took notice that the Hokage was also in attendance and was talking to one of the academy instructors.

Azula and Naruto stood a little ways of from the rest of the group and waited for the classes to start so that they could enter the building. As more and more students and their families showed up, a few of the children took notice of Naruto's new appearance and Azula's presence next to him, and began to quietly mutter amongst themselves about who this girl was and why she was next to the class clown.

After a few minutes a group of the more curious children came over to them. Azula watched as they approached Naruto. A boy with brown hair and red markings on his face walked up to the blond before asking the question they all had on their minds.

"Hey, Naruto, whats up with the weird clothes?" He asked.

Naruto simply shrugged before replying. "They're just new clothes that I'm supposed to wear. They're supposed to be more fitting for someone of royal blood to wear than what I had before."

This statement made the brown haired boy blink in confusion. He seemed to be thinking about the implications of Naruto's answer when a girl with long blond hair spoke up.

"Yeah right Naruto-baka. You're not even from a noble clan, let alone royalty!" The girl said in a disbelieving tone.

It was at this point that Azula decided to join the conversation. "How do you know?" she asked.

The children all turned their attention to the older girl. A pink haired girl raised her hand, as if she were in class, and asked "Um, who are you?"

Before Azula could answer another voice spoke up. "Her name is Azula Uzumaki." everyone turned their heads to see the Hokage walking over to the group. "Azula here, is a princess from a very distant land. She's come to stay in Konoha for now though, and is living with Naruto, who is her distant relative."

When he said this the group of children turned back to Naruto and Azula with looks of surprise and awe. Several of the girls appeared to have stars in their eyes, as they looked at Azula. They couldn't believe that they were meeting a real princess.

The brown haired boy who had asked Naruto about his clothing laughed "Oh so she's his relative? And here I thought the idiot might have gotten a girlfriend." He said in a teasing tone.

Azula silently thanked the boy. This was just the kind of comment that she had been waiting for. If Naruto had indeed become infatuated with her he would likely have some reaction to this comment. If he did react she could use this situation to help determine if this was the course of action she would need to take in order to bring him to the Fire Nation. She looked down at the blond boy next to her and noticed a light blush on his face.

Azula smirked. Oh yes, that was what she was hoping for. Still it could be embarrassment from the thought of having a girlfriend rather than having her specifically as an object of affection. She knew that children around Naruto's age were often easily embarrassed when it came to the thought of dating and romance. She would have to see if this was because of her, or simply because of the idea.

Azula leaned down, and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck, putting her face next to his. "Oh?" she questioned, looking right at the brown haired boy. "Are you certain I'm not his girlfriend? You know, royalty often marry family to keep the line pure, and Naruto-kun here is my distant relative." She said, making use of the 'kun' honorific she had learned in the past few weeks.

She was pleased to see Naruto's face go bright red. She watched him open his mouth and try to form words, only for nothing to come out. That reaction told her all she needed to know. The blond had developed a crush on her. With time she could, and would feed this affection in order to make him completely loyal to her. Of course she had no way of knowing how long it would be before she could go home, but if all went to plan, Naruto would willingly come with her and fight for the Fire Nation.

* * *

Naruto was frantically trying to think of a way out of this embarrassing situation. It was bad enough when Kiba had joked about Azula being his girlfriend, but when the older girl put her arms around him and mentioned marriage, his brain almost shut down. Over the course of the last three weeks he had come to like Azula. He knew from the beginning that she was pretty, and powerful. That much was obvious by by just looking at her, but it was when she had promised to never hate or fear him, like the villagers did, that he had really begun to look at her in a different light. He'd had a crush on Sakura, one of his class mates for a while, and now he had developed one on Azula as well. He didn't make it as obvious as he had with Sakura; knowing that Azula was rather proud, and for that matter scary. He would have felt ridiculous asking the older girl out on a date, especially since he really had no idea what to do on one. He only asked Sakura on dates because he'd heard it was a good way to bond with those you liked, and she had been nice to him when the academy first started. All this coupled with the fact that, even if it was only a joke, this was the first time a girl had shown a possibility of returning his feelings; it was just to much for the boys brain, making him dangerously close to overloading.

Fortunately, he was saved from further embarrassment when his teachers called everyone inside to begin the class. As the people filtered into the classroom, the students took their seats and their families took spots along the edge of the class to observe them.

* * *

Once everyone had settled into their spots, an instructor with a scar on his face addressed the guests and the Hokage "Welcome, everyone, to this year's open house. I'm Iruka Umino, one of the instructors here at the academy. We are honored to have you all here to see how your children are coming along and what they are learning. We are also most honored to have Hokage-sama here with us today."

For the next hour and a half the teachers asked questions about the history of Konoha and the shinobi world, calling on different students to answer each question. Through this Azula learned that the village had only been around for a little over a century. She was also completely surprised to learn that ninjutsu could be used to fight using all four elements, as well as other elements for a select few individuals, like the famed Shodaime Hokage, who controlled the wood element, Mokuton it was called. Azula for the first time in her life, felt a little small. She was living in a strange new world, filled with people who had power akin to that of the Avatar.

This realization made Azula come to two conclusions. The first was that if there was ever any doubt about whether manipulating Naruto into coming to the Fire Nation was a good idea or not, it was now gone. She not only wanted him to come, she needed him to come with her. The power of a demon inside of him, plus the ability to fight with all the elements, and a natural skill in fire bending; the boy would be the greatest warrior the Fire Nation had ever seen. He would be the sword that would deliver her the throne, and eventually the entire world. Oh yes, she would make sure Naruto came with her. No matter what.

The second realization she came too, was that if she fought a higher level shinobi, she would be easily out classed. She would have to find a way to either start learning the shinobi arts or find a way to counter them. If she was unable to do this, she had a feeling that she would very likely die before ever being able to get home to her own world. She understood now why she had felt such a instinctive fear of the ANBU and the hokage now, to them killing her would be child's play. It was a terrifying thought, that the power that made the Avatar such a dangerous opponent was available to so many in this world.

After the questions about the history of the village and shinobi world, the teachers took the students and observers outside to a training area where several human shaped targets were set up. The teachers had students line up behind the targets and throw ten kunai at them.

Azula made note of each student that did exceptionally well, landing seven or more kunai in the target. Of these students were the brown haired boy from earlier, a dark haired boy in a blue shirt and white shorts, a girl with pale eyes and blue hair, a boy that wore dark glasses and a high collared jacket. She was quite happy when she saw Naruto join their ranks as he landed seven kunai in his target, and she was even happier when she noticed a few of the adults looking surprised and impressed. Azula suspected that Naruto may have gotten lucky, as he had mentioned before that he was only ever ranked in the middle of the class when it came to throwing weapons like kunai and shuriken. Even so, it didn't matter if it was luck, as long as the adults of the noble clans assumed it was skill they would be impressed.

Next the academy instructors lead the group over to several circular arenas. Here the instructor with the scar on his nose, Iruka, gathered the attention of the guests.

"Now, here we're going to have each of the students spar against an instructor so that they can show off what they've learned. Because the students opponent will be a chunin, the students will be allowed to use some of their jutsu." he said.

With that announcement the students began gathering into groups at the different arenas to wait for their turn to fight. Azula noticed that Naruto was standing fairly close to her. She also noticed the chunin he was supposed to fight was the white haired peasant that had called her a child, several weeks earlier. Smirking she walked over to Naruto and grabbed his shoulder, making the boy look up at her.

Leaning down to whisper in his ear she said "Naruto, I want you do your absolute best to defeat this man. Have you shown your class mates or teachers your bending yet?"

Naruto shook his head. Azula had expressly told him not to bend without her around early on in their training.

"Good." She all but purred. "I give you permission to use it against this man. You likely don't have the skill to defeat him outright just yet. But if you manage to surprise him, you'll throw him off guard and that will give you the edge. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "I do, Azula-hime."

"Good. Oh and Naruto? Remember that when you fire bend you must be ruthless to your opponent. No matter who they are. No mercy, just like I taught you. Don't disappoint me."

With that said she returned to spot among the observers, and waited for Naruto to face Mizuki. As she waited, she saw the Hokage walk up to stand beside her. Looking down at the fourteen year old girl, the man spoke. "What did you have to say to young Naruto?" He asked.

Looking at the old shinobi leader Azula said, "I just told him to do his best, and to remember his training."

Breathing out a stream of smoke from his pipe, the old man nodded in acknowledgment. "I see. I must say that I'm rather looking forward to seeing that 'bending' you've been teaching the boy." He gave a chuckle at the look of surprise the girl gave him. "Oh don't be so surprised that I know. I told you before, I know everything that happens in this village."

Azula just remained silent and turned her attention back to where Naruto was.

* * *

Naruto was bursting with anticipation. After three weeks of learning fire bending from Azula he was finally getting to show it off. He knew he had only mastered the first few forms, meant for beginners, and was only just beginning to learn the second tier forms, but he felt confident that he could use his abilities in a spar like this. Naruto was also eager to impress Azula, and show her that he was worthy of her tutelage. She had specifically asked him not to let her down, and he would do his absolute best to live up to her expectations.

After what seemed like hours Naruto finally got his turn to spar against the white haired chunin.

Stepping into the ring Naruto made the customary bow to his opponent. When Mizuki bowed back, they both got into their respective stances, Mizuki taking the academy taijutsu stance and Naruto taking a fire bending stance. As Naruto looked at the chunin across from him preparing to spar, he felt something in him rise. It was the same surging feeling that he'd felt when he first used his will to fire bend. This time, however, the surge came with a rush a heat. His whole body felt warm, as if he had been exercising for hours on end.

As the proctor began the match he rushed at Mizuki, launching a punch at the man's torso. Mizuki easily blocked it and responded with a kick. Naruto saw the kick coming, but barely managed to dodge it by leaping to the right. He attacked the chunin with a kick of his own which was also blocked. Mizuki sent a punch to Naruto's stomach, knocking the young boy back a few feet, and causing him double over for a second.

All through the fight thus far, Naruto had felt the surge in him growing, expanding, begging to explode out of him. Rather than let it go, he had "grabbed" onto it, for lack of better word. The more he held on to the surging feeling, the hotter his body felt. He had kept holding onto it until he felt like his body would burst into flames.

Now that Mizuki had knocked Naruto back a few feet the boy saw an opening to surprise Mizuki. The blond charged forward once again and saw Mizuki smirk, obviously thinking the boy was going to recklessly try another frontal assault. When he was less than a foot away from the white haired man, Naruto stopped and dropped into a crouch, using his momentum to swing his right leg to the left in a sweeping gesture. As he did this he let the surge inside him go, and he felt it shoot forth flowing down his body towards his legs. When the surge reached his foot watched a stream of bright orange fire blast out, following the sweeping arc his foot had made.

The blast of fire caught Mizuki completely off guard, but he wasn't a chunin for nothing. He managed to dodge the orange blaze at the last second by jumping over it. Naruto saw this as he quickly got back on his feet, feeling the surge return full force. As Mizuki landed Naruto kept up his assault, sending a punch that launched a blast of fire at the man's chest just as his feet hit the ground. Mizuki once again dodged the attack at the last moment, this time by putting all his weight on his left foot and spinning in to his left. This left him off balance, however, a fact Naruto took note of. He kicked high in the air, launching a stream fire that caught Mizuki in the right shoulder. As the fire hit the chunin he gave a cry of pain and grabbed his shoulder with his left hand. A move that left him wide open. Naruto hesitated just for a moment, for one moment that seemed to drag on for an eternity the blond boy considered what he was about to do. He thought of the fact that this man was his teacher, he thought of the fact that he had probably scored enough points in the match to boost his grade in the class and impress the people watching. For one moment Naruto considered backing off and letting Mizuki recover. Then Azula's words rang through his mind. _"No mercy. Don't disappoint me."_ Remembering those words, spoken to him by the girl who had come into his life so recently and suddenly; the girl who had quickly come to mean so much to the boy, Naruto made a choice. At that moment Naruto made a decision that would lead him down a path he never knew existed. He steeled himself and sent a punch and a blast of orange fire forwards. The blaze hit the chunin right on his lower face. The man screamed as hot orange fire covered the left side lower jaw, and as he screamed some of the fire poured into his mouth, burning it and his throat.

As Mizuki screamed and fell down clutching his face, the proctor rushed to the fallen chunin, and called over the medics, who been standing by near the arenas. The medics immediately began to apply medical ninjutsu to the fallen man's wounds. As more medics rushed over, Naruto could only stand in there in shock; not really believing what he just did. He was vaguely aware of one of the chunin pulling him away from the arena, to get him out of the way of the medics.

He felt a hand on his shoulder spin him around, and he came face to face with Azula, who kneeling in front of him. The dark haired girl pulled him into a hug allowing him to bury his face in the space between her neck and shoulder, as tears poured down his face. Azula stroked his golden hair and began whispering words of comfort in his ear, telling him he did what he was supposed too, and that it wasn't his fault; that he had done well.

All the commotion had drawn everyone's attention to Mizuki, who was now being taken away on a stretcher. As parents pulled the faces of their children away from the scene or as some watched the morbid spectacle, only the hokage noticed Azula comforting Naruto. Only the hokage saw the smile on the girl's face.

* * *

Azula stood in the hokage's office. Shortly after Mizuki had been taken to the hospital and the families and students had been sent home, the hokage had taken Naruto and Azula to the Hokage Tower. Naruto had been left outside the office with an ANBU, but Azula had been all but dragged through the doors.

Needless to say the Hiruzen Sarutobi was not happy. On the contrary, he was absolutely livid, and it showed.

"Give me one reason." he said "Give me one good reason why I should not have you taken away and executed for what you've done, girl."

It took every ounce of Azula's self control to keep from breaking under the mans stare. She focused on breathing, happy that while the aged shinobi was angry, he wasn't releasing any of the killing intent that he had when they had first met. Steeling herself Azula looked at the man, and finally spoke. "I'm not sure, what you mean Hokage-sama. I haven't done anything except train Naruto in fire bending. Which as you stated, you already knew about."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it." he growled at her. "I saw you're reaction to what happened. You were_ happy_ about it! You were happy he injured Mizuki like that."

It was true. When Azula had told Naruto to use fire bending in the fight, she had expected him to score a glancing blow at best. When she had seen him hit the white haired man with his flames directly in the face, she had been ecstatic. It gave her an opportunity to further her bonds with the boy, and cement his loyalty to her. Of course she hadn't expected the hokage to react like this, at least not so soon. Yet she was not completely unprepared. She had a plan, she had no idea if it would work, but it was still a plan.

"Of course I was happy." she stated. "I watched my pupil surpass everyone's expectations of him, including my own. I watched him land a crippling, and winning, blow on an opponent who completely outclassed him in every way. If that is not reason to be proud and happy for him, I do not know what is. I can honestly say that I did not expect the outcome of his match, but I will not hide that I am pleased by it. I'm pleased that my student has come so far so fast, not because of what happened to the chunin. Truthfully it is the man's fault for underestimating Naruto. If he had not done so, he would likely be just fine."

The hokage growled. Azula was making a point, a good one. He knew there was more to it than she let on, but he wasn't sure what, and she hadn't lied to him at all. Looking her in the eye he said "Naruto could be mentally scarred from this."

Azula stared right back. She had expected this issue to be brought up the moment Naruto had wounded Mizuki. She already had her counter argument ready.

"If he has been emotionally hurt, then I will comfort him. Also if he is planning to become a shinobi he will have to commit acts like this and much worse, quite often, unless I've been misled as to the purpose of your occupation. I would think it would be better for him and others like him to learn this early on. I certainly did when my father had me study the arts of war."

The hokage grimaced. She had made another good point, one he wished weren't true, but unfortunately it was. Indeed in the past many shinobi had learned the same lesson at early ages. Especially during the Great Shinobi Wars. Reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, he let out a sigh.

"You realize of course that while my law still stays in effect, it is likely that few of the more stupid individuals in the village may see this as reason to come after the boy's blood?" He asked her.

"Then I will protect him." Azula replied. She saw the hokage look back at her, somewhat disbelieving. "Hokage-sama, whether you realize it or not, in the short time I've been here that boy, Naruto, has become more important to me than you can possibly imagine." She didn't tell him why he was important of course, but she wasn't lying. It was a half truth, but not one nearly as obvious as the one she'd tried telling when she first arrived in the village. Staring the man right in the eyes Azula continued. "Believe me when I say that I will never willingly let harm come to that boy, nor will I ever intentionally make his life more difficult. I will protect him all I can. Further more, I know that right now I can give him the comfort he needs. Were you to execute me, or separate me from him, I suspect he would irreversibly damaged."

Sarutobi was angry. He was angry at this girl for teaching Naruto techniques that had caused this incident, although he knew that many clan children had far more dangerous techniques in their arsenal. He was angry at her for making three well thought out and valid points. He was angry at her because, even though it wasn't truly her fault, Naruto had taken his first step into the shinobi world. A step he suspected the boy hadn't been ready to take. He was angry at her because she was_ right. _He couldn't punish the girl because she had done nothing wrong, nor could he punish Naruto, for he had obviously not truly expected to be able to harm the chunin instructor, and had learned a harsh lesson. He would have to speak to the boy at another time, and make it very, very clear that such attacks were never to be performed against a fellow Konoha shinobi or ally; and that if he did so again he would be severely punished. However, the best thing that could be done now was to try to help the cope with the situation.

"Take Naruto home." He said to Azula. "Take him home, and let him rest and be there for him as much as you can. I will need to speak to him about this incident at some point, but for now let him rest."

Azula smiled inwardly, knowing that her gamble had paid off, and he had won this particular battle. She bowed to hokage and left the office. Once she exited she took Naruto and exited the tower, heading to their apartment. Neither of them spoke on the way there.

* * *

When they entered the apartment she guided him to his room and sat down on the bed next to him. She cupped his chin and made him look at her. "Naruto," she spoke. "Know that what you did today was not your fault. I understand that this is the first time you have inflicted pain on another person like that. I know that it is hard to deal with. I know that it is frightening. I went through it too. You need to know, that as a shinobi, you will have to hurt others, and kill to do your job; to defend your land and it's people. What you did today was not wrong. It was merely the first step on a journey you must take, a hard step, but a necessary one." As she said all this she looked into Naruto's eyes and saw that he was indeed listening to her. She saw her words were having some comforting effect on the boy.

"Remember when I told you about the burden of power?" She asked him. Receiving a nod from the boy, she continued. "This is part of that burden. You had the power to harm that man, to defeat him in battle. It was your duty to do your best in the fight, and so when you saw an opportunity to win, you took it. That is power. Had your opponent had more power, he would not have lost. Had he not underestimated you, he would not have been injured. The fault lies with him, not you. Others may come to resent you for this incident, they may go to greater lengths to shun you, for now they have seen a taste of your true power. But remember I will never shun you. I will never hate or fear you. There is one final thing I wish to tell you Naruto. Today, your actions made me very proud."

When Azula said those last words, Naruto's eyes widened. He felt a mix of emotions, happiness, guilt, sorrow, anger, and fear all bottled up into one, great blob of indecipherable feeling. When he heard Azula say she was proud of him, he reacted on pure instinct, unable to truly form a coherent thought. He tackled her onto the bed, burying his face into the older girls chest. Sobs racked his body as he held on the to Fire Nation princess for dear life, wanting nothing more than to hold the girl and be held by her until this pain went away;and as Azula wrapped her arms around him, she was content to let him. The lay there together in each others arms until sleep took them.

* * *

**Well, there's chapter three. What did you think? I think we all can agree that Mizuki is having a pretty bad day. You got to see that Azula is still just as cruel as she was before, and you got to see how she is beginning to affect our favorite blond. As I said earlier things will get happier in the next chapter, and you will get to see how Naruto is affecting Azula next time. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please review and let me know what you think, and what I can do to improve. Thank you.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! I'm back. Sorry it took so long to update. I meant to update over spring break but I got sidetracked by lots of things. For example I bought the first season of RWBY and I made my friend who hadn't seen it yet watch it. Then I went and watched the entire season with commentary by the cast. Then I had to go read RWBY fan fiction. Which lead me to a discovery. My favorite pairing for RWBY so far is Jean x Pyrrha. I put that on my list of favorite pairings and I realized something about said list. It has Jean x Pyrrha, Issei x Rias, Natsu x Erza, Rikuo x Tsurara, Inner Moka x Tsukune, Tayuya x Naruto, and Kirito x Asuna. I notice a lot of similarities in these pairings. **

**Anyway on to more important business. Some people have asked why the Hokage isn't more wary of Azula trying to steal Naruto. The answer is that she hasn't actually given a good reason for him to suspect she is "corrupting" him yet. Sure he was angry about the whole Mizuki thing, but that was more because of his own grandfatherly feelings and him wanting to protect Naruto from the dark side of the world than him thinking she was beginning to corrupt him. Secondly to every one who wants to see how the council will react to fire bending I say this. I haven't even decided if there will be a council yet. In Naruto canon the council we see in fanfiction doesn't even exist. It consists of Homura and Kotaru and Sometimes Danzo and that's it. No clan heads, no civilians, nada. I'm going to to put up poll to see if people want me to use the canon council or if they want me to use "Fanon" council. If more people want "Fanon" know this: There will be no civilian council! There will be no screaming banshee's or people calling for Naruto's death or banishment every five minutes! They will a governing body that makes smart well thought out decisions, and actually ADVISESES the Hokage. Honestly, Jincuuriki are thought of as weapons by most people. They are a way to balance the scales...why would anyone banish or kill their best defense?**

**With all that said on with the story!**

**Spiraling Flames Chapter Four**

* * *

Azula woke before dawn, as her internal clock told her it was time to wake up and eat, before going through her, and Naruto's morning training. She looked down and saw that Naruto was lying next to her, his arms wrapped around her and his face pressed firmly into her chest. Obviously the two had not drifted away from one another after falling asleep in each others arms the night before. Azula smiled a little bit, remembering the events of the previous day. It had been more successful than she could have ever hoped for. Not only had she been able to determine that Naruto had a crush on her, but she had also been able 'bond' with the boy. By being there for him, and comforting him after the incident with Mizuki, she had gained more of his trust and affection.

She felt Naruto tighten his grip on her in his sleep, making her smirk. It was amusing that they had stayed like this all night long. Not because they were cuddled together, but because it was Naruto who was doing the cuddling. Every night before it was Azula who had latched onto the boy in her sleep, just like the first night, and refused to release the boy until she woke up. She no longer chased him around with fire when she woke up either. She saw no point in repeatedly terrifying the young boy every time she used him as her own personal living stuffed animal. She had instead made him promise never to tell anyone about her cuddling habit, promising great pain if he broke that promise.

Normally she would have woken Naruto so that they could eat and begin his training, but she felt that after his display yesterday that he had earned the right to sleep in, if only for today. Besides, she had to admit that the younger boy looked adorable right now, making even the Fire Nation Princess get a warm fuzzy feeling deep within her, she would never tell that to anyone though. So for now she would let Naruto lay in her arms and sleep in, besides, if her plans for the future worked out, she suspected she would have to get used to situations like this.

* * *

Bright morning sunlight flooded through the window of Naruto's bedroom, shining directly on his face. He groaned turned his face into his pillow to escape the glare and try to drift off back to sleep. He was especially tired today and his pillow was extra comfy. He also noted that it was warm, very warm. He opened his eyes and blinked. He realized that his pillow was not a pillow at all, rather it was Azula's bust that his head now laid upon. He briefly wondered if the older girl had rolled over to him and grabbed him as she had done most nights, before he remembered that it was actually him who had snuggled into her the previous evening. He also remembered why he had been so eager to be held by the girl, all the pain and guilt of the incident with Mizuki came rushing back. With those feelings came something else as well, the memory of Azula's words to him before the two had fallen asleep. She had said that he had made her proud, and that he had done well, he had made her happy. That thought brought forth a feeling of joy and warmth to Naruto, warmth that served to fight off the guilt and sadness he had felt for hurting Mizuki. He took a deep breath, smiling to himself, and was tempted to drift back into sleep when he heard Azula speak.

"Naruto, how long do you intend on using my breasts as a pillow?"

The girls voice made him jerk backwards, separating himself from the the princess. He looked at her, not really sure how she would react to the situation. Sure she had been cuddling close to him at night for the past two weeks, but that was when she was the one initiating it not him. He knew that the situation wasn't really all that different, despite that fact, but Naruto had learned from the girls in his class that logic didn't always apply in the minds of girls in these situations. It seemed his fears were unfounded,however, as he looked up and saw Azula looking right back at him, an amused smirk on her face.

"My, that was a fast reaction." She said. "Could it be that you're embarrassed about using me as a pillow Naruto? You don't have to be too embarrassed you know, were going to be doing that far more often if we get married eventually."

"Azula-hime, it's not nice to tease me like that." Naruto whined, blushing a rather impressive shade of red.

If it was possible Azula's smirk grew. "Now Naruto, what makes you think I'm just teasing you? I wasn't lying when I told that boy yesterday that it's normal for relatives in the royal line to marry each other."

When Naruto heard this he blushed even more and started stammering, trying to form words. Eventually his mouth caught up with his brain and he managed to squeak out a sentence. "You mean we're going to get married?"

The older girl laughed at his embarrassment and said "I don't think we're going to be married just yet Naruto. You're far to young, and I don't feel the need to become a wife so soon in my life. But it is possible that we could marry eventually. As the heir to the throne I will need to wed and produce a child to take the throne after I take it, and no serious suitors have come forward as of yet. Of course you would have to prove your self worthy of being my husband. I won't spend my life with a weakling, I won't give my love to just anyone."

Naruto's mind reeled. Marriage to Azula was actually a possibility. It was hard to wrap his head around the idea. He knew he liked the older girl, and she had proven several times within the short time that he had know her that she was one of the few people who really card for him. She had trained him, she comforted him when he was sad. She had helped him in so many ways. Her very presence had helped him, giving him a friend and someone to share his life with.

Naruto loved having Azula in his life. She had been the best thing to happen to him since...well ever. She had told him that she would have to leave for her home eventually, in the first week they had lived together, a fact that he dreaded. Azula had made his life so much better, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to watch her leave and never return. He had been hoping, and thinking of ways to make her stay, but he couldn't come up with anything. But now she had told him that the chance of marrying her was very real, and people who got married were always together no matter what. Well that's what he heard in stories and from jiji any way. So it would make sense that if he could get Azula to marry him, she would stay in Konoha with him. With that thought Naruto began to form a plan.

* * *

Azula watched as her words sunk into the Naruto's mind, knowing that he was beginning to wonder at the possibilities of future marriage. While she didn't think that she would be able to convince him to leave his home with such a simple suggestion, she knew that it would sew the seeds for later. If she calculated correctly it would also make him strive to become stronger and seek approval in her eyes, which would further strengthen his bond and devotion to her. She almost hoped it would take a long while for the Hokage's shinobi to find a way to get her home, after all it wouldn't do to leave such a fine weapon here. Azula could already see her plan coming to fruition, as visions of her being crowned as the empress of the four nations, with Naruto standing by her side, acting as her guard and slaughtering her enemies, filled her mind.

The Fire Nation Princess was brought from her fantasy when she noticed Naruto's clock out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that Naruto only had an hour or so to get to the academy she got out of bed walked to the door of the bedroom. Turning to Naruto she said. "Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen. You still need to eat before you attend your classes." with that she turned and walked to her room to get dressed.

Once she had gotten into a fresh change of clothes she walked into the kitchen and proceeded to get herself a bowl of cereal. Cereal in and of itself was a food she found rather strange. It was a breakfast food made up of grain and flavoring, served cold in milk. This was completely different from the food in the Fire Nation. There all breakfasts were served hot, in fact most food was served hot. It was the Fire Nation after all, hot food was to be expected. Despite its differences, however, she found that she had grown rather fond of cereal. Maybe it was because of all the sugar that was in it, Azula always did have a bit of a sweet tooth.

The dark haired girl was brought out of her musings on the food in front of her when Naruto walked into the kitchen. Setting her bowl down, she watched as he got his own breakfast, when he sat down at the table beside her she turned to him.

"Naruto," she said "I have a favor to ask of you."

The blond boy blinked. "You need a favor?" he asked, clearly wondering what she could need that he could help with.

"Yes." she said. "When we work on your fire bending next, I want you to teach me how to use some of your ninjutsu."

Naruto gaped at her. "You want me to teach you? Couldn't you ask Jiji for help with this? I'm sure he could find you a good teacher."

Azula shook her head. "I could, but I don't think I would feel comfortable doing so. I don't really know anyone in the village aside from you and I would have a hard time trusting anyone. Besides, I'm sure you will be a great teacher." The truth was that she didn't think the Hokage would actually help her to learn ninjutsu. All the conversations that the two had held up till now seemed to indicate that he would rather her remain ignorant of any techniques she could learn or use. Azula could understand why, she was an outside force within the walls of the village and she held no loyalty to Konoha or it's inhabitants. Teaching her ninjutsu would be counterproductive to ensuring the village's safety. That said if Naruto were to teach her, it would be easier to get away with. Everything she had learned about him so far stated that he was towards the bottom of his class in grades and skill, so no one would take the idea of him teaching her seriously. Even if the Hokage found out about him teaching her, he would likely assume that he wouldn't be able to teach her well. Even if that assumption was correct some knowledge was better than none in Azula's eyes.

"Well okay." Naruto said. "I guess I can try to teach you. I'll ask Iruka-sensei for pointers!" he exclaimed.

"No. I don't think that's a good idea. He would tell the Hokage and then he would ask me why I didn't come to him about it, and I'll be forced to tell him I didn't trust anyone and I'll be embarrassed. You don't want me to be embarrassed do you, Naruto-kun?" She asked, doing her best to look cute, and adding the 'kun' honorific for extra effect. She was pleased when she saw Naruto blush slightly and vigorously shake his head.

"Good, then it will out little secret." She said happily. "Now finish your breakfast and head off to the academy. When you return we will resume your bending training and you can begin teaching me." She saw the boy take on a saddened look when she mentioned the academy. "What's wrong?" she asked, although she thought she had a good idea as to what it was.

"It's just that I'm worried about what the other kids will think of me after what I did to Mizuki. I know you said that is part of the burden of power, but I don't want them to hate me if I can help it. I'm already laughed at a lot and picked on, what if they treat me worse now."

Azula sighed. She would have to get rid of the boy's insecurity sooner or later. It wouldn't do to have a powerful man fighting for her and protecting her, if he was worried about the feelings of those around him. For now though it presented yet another opportunity to get closer to him. "You just said that they laughed at you and picked on you, does it really matter whether they fear you? I can tell you right now, Naruto, that many if not all of your class mates will have some form of fear of you now. In my experience this is actually a good thing. That fear will make them wary of you, meaning they will be less inclined to mock or bully you now that they have seen your power."

Naruto seemed to consider her words. "So in a way, fear means respect? But you respect me and you don't fear me." He said, sounding confused.

Azula smirked. "It's a different kind of respect. I respect you as a person, as someone who also holds power like you do. The respect they will have for you is like the the respect that prey has for a predator. Understand?"

Naruto nodded but had a had a pensive look, showing that he was still thinking on her words. After a few moments he looked up and gave the dark haired girl a smile. " Thanks Azula-hime! I'll try to think of what you said. I'm not really sure that I understand all of it just yet, but it does help a bit. Anyway I'm off to the academy."

With that the boy turned and walked out the apartment door. Azula smiled to herself, thinking about how the boy ate up every word she said. Barring any major changes in the way the boys life was going and how those around him treated him she could see no reason why her plan would fail. Well there was the Hokage to consider, the old man was still a potential problem and after yesterday's display he would watch her closely. She knew she would have to find some way to throw off his suspicions but she had no way of doing so at the moment, so she would have to keep an eye out for an opportunity to do so. For now though, she had a less pressing but more immediate problem to deal with. The same problem that had plagued her since the Hokage had given her the translation scroll, writing this worlds language. Grabbing a brush, some ink, and several pieces of paper Azula sat down at the table and began trying to copy the characters in the scroll to paper.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha sat in a desk by the window of the classroom, with his hands folded together in front of his face. He had arrived earlier than any of the other students, in an effort to avoid the more enthusiastic members of his so called fan club. He was in deep thought, brooding one might say, something he did rather often. This time, however, his mind was occupied by something other than his thoughts of vengeance on his brother. This time his mind was dwelling on Naruto Uzumaki. When Sasuke had first met the boy, he had thought he was loud, brash, and talentless. That had changed when his clan had been wiped out. Naruto had been one of the very few people who didn't come to him with empty sympathy. Naruto treated him as a rival, as a goal to overcome, and yet he knew that the blond understood his pain more than other person in their age group. At first Sasuke wondered if Naruto could be a friend, an ally, someone to rely on. Those thoughts were quickly dashed though as he realized that Naruto was still incredibly weak, he couldn't afford to have weak friends or allies when if he was going to kill Itachi. He had placed Naruto in the category of 'interesting, but not really worth noticing' after that. Then yesterday had happened, and all of Sasuke's previous judgments of the boy came into question. Naruto had done decently well on his weapons test, and had been fairly competent at answering questions in class. While both of these facts were a change from the norm, they wouldn't have been all that special by themselves. It was the Uzumaki's match against Mizuki that had gotten Sasuke's attention.

Naruto had not only won against the chunin, but had seriously wounded him as well. That was impressive, that showed progress. No one had been able to beat an instructor in combat since Itachi had attended the academy, a fact that held significance. Did this mean Naruto was a genius of the same caliber as Itachi? Did he simply get lucky yesterday? Even if that was the case, he had clearly gained more power. What of the girl who had arrived and left with Naruto? Who was she? Was she the one responsible for his growth? The girl had clearly radiated power and confidence, she also gave off another feeling, one Sasuke couldn't quite identify. According to the Hokage she was a visiting princess and was a distant relative of Naruto. Did that make Naruto a possible heir to a nation? There were too many questions and the only way he would gain answers was to confront Naruto himself. With that in mind, Sasuke decided he would take the first chance he got to talk to the blond.

As the classroom filled with more and more people Sasuke kept an eye on the door, watching for Naruto. His view was soon obstructed by several girls who came over to ask him for dates, which he shot down by giving them glares. The girls looked slightly dejected and took their own seats, giving the dark haired boy his view of the door back. After what seemed like an eternity the boy he had been waiting for entered the room. Sasuke watched as Naruto took a seat in the back of the room, noticing that several students moved to get out of his path, looks of uncertainty and fear on their faces. Clearly many of the kids in their class had been frightened by his fight with Mizuki. It disgusted the Uchiha. They were here to learn to be ninja, to learn to fight and kill. They would have to see and do things like that a lot in the future. Maybe once, years before, Sasuke would have been frightened as well, but then his brother had made him watch as he murdered their clan. That had been far more terrifying and traumatizing than what Naruto had done.

Sasuke was about to get up and go talk to him when Iruka walked into the room and called for everyone's attention.

"Settle down everyone, settle down." Iruka said, prompting everyone to get in their seats. "Now as you all know there was an...accident during one of the spars yesterday resulting in Mizuki-sensei's hospitalization. He will be fine, however, and should be able to make a quick recovery though. That said, he won't be joining us for at least another few weeks. I also want you all to know that this was an accident, and that you will need to get used to events like this. It is part of being a shinobi."

Sasuke could tell the teacher was trying to keep the class from shunning Naruto any further, but he doubted it would work. Based on how the blond had been treated in past years, and how many of the students now looked at him with fear in their eyes, he guessed that any chance the Uzumaki had of being treated normally had vanished. His attention was drawn back to Iruka as the chunin began the lessons for that day. The scar faced man lectured the class for what seemed like forever, occasionally calling on students to answer questions and asking for input. Finally he announced that it was time for lunch break and released the students to go eat. The students started shuffling around getting out packed lunches and walking over to their friends. Sasuke saw a few girls starting to walk over to him, no doubt to ask him to eat with them. Before they could reach him, however, he stood up and walked towards the back of the class. He stopped in front of Naruto's desk and he saw the blond look up at him a puzzled look on his face. There was a tension in the room as the students watched the two, wondering what was happening. Sasuke smirked on the inside, they were all probably thinking he was going to try to fight Naruto, well then this would be a nice surprise.

"Hey. Want to sit with me for lunch?" Sasuke asked the boy, and took great pleasure in the gasps of jealousy and outrage his fan girls gave. Oh how he loved tormenting them.

* * *

Azula felt like jumping and shouting for joy, and had she not been raised as she had she probably would have. She had done it, she had finally gotten the characters of this worlds language down. She had written them all successfully, multiple times. She would continue to practice of course, but for now she was happy that they looked the way they were supposed to. Despite the fact that she wasn't leaping all over the place in joy, she still felt she deserved a reward, so with that in mind she headed out the door of the apartment and into the village. Within half an hour she was sitting on a stool in Ichiraku's happily devouring her fifth bowl of ramen. Ever since Naruto had introduced the heavenly food to her, she had resolved to try every type of ramen that Ichiraku had to offer. While she wanted to eat there every day Azula realized that eating too much ramen was probably not good for her, so she had to moderate the number of times she ate at the ramen stand. That didn't stop her from ordering six or seven bowls every time she did go there. No sane person could blame her for that, it was just so good. In her mind Azula vaguely wondered if she should give Naruto some sort of medal when they returned to the Fire Nation, as a reward for giving her this amazing food.

The dark haired girl watched as Ayame placed a sixth bowl of ramen in front of her, and resisted the urge to drool. Just as she was about to start devouring the food, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head she saw the same cat masked ANBU that had been her guide and escort on her first day in the village. Azula suddenly got the feeling she wouldn't be able to finish her ramen. It was a bad feeling.

"Ah Neko-san, I don't suppose you're here to enjoy some ramen." Azula said knowing full well that the female ANBU wanted something else.

"No, I'm afraid not. Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you immediately." the masked woman replied.

Azula sighed. "Do I have time to finish my ramen?"  
"Hokage-sama wishes to see you immediately." the ANBU said.

Azula almost considered ignoring that and finishing her ramen anyway, but common sense overcame her desire for the heavenly food and she stood up. Throwing some money on the counter she called out to Ayame. "Ayame-san, I have to leave. I left the payment on the counter." Turning to the cat masked woman she said. "Okay, Neko-san, take me to the Hokage."

* * *

Naruto sat under a tree next to Sasuke. The two both had their lunches in front of them but neither had taken a bite yet. When the Uchiha had invited him to eat lunch with him, Naruto had been as surprised as the rest of the class. He didn't know what he had expected when the dark haired boy had approached him, but this wasn't it, especially after how the rest of the class treated him.

"Hey." Naruto said, breaking the silence. "Why did you want to eat with me? You've never showed any signs that you wanted to be friends with me...or anyone for that matter."

Sasuke looked over at him. "Because of what you did yesterday. Up until now I haven't had a reason to talk to anyone. I have to avenge my clan and then rebuild it. I don't have time to have fun and hang out with people. I don't mind having friends, allies, but everyone else is too weak. They would be a liability in my quest, not an asset. I need friends who can help me avenge my clan, not weaklings. Until yesterday I thought you were weak, but you proved otherwise. I guess I'm curious as to what changed."

Naruto blinked at that. Sasuke hadn't been making friends because he thought they were weak? He would have done anything for friends, no matter who or how strong they were. The Uchiha's mind set seemed crazy to him. But at the same time it fit in, a little, with what Azula had told him. Power respects power seemed to be the concept here.

"So now that you think I'm strong you want to be friends?" Naruto asked, feeling rather angry that the Uchiha hadn't thought him worth the time of day before because he had thought he was weak.

"I don't know if friends is the right word." Sasuke said. "In time maybe we would be friends, but right now I want to get to know you. You are interesting, you beat a chunin in combat. That means your stronger than anyone else we know in our age group. I don't know if we would be friends or rivals. Either way I feel you have something to teach me, something I can learn from. Even if we end up hating each other, your someone who I would want to keep tabs on."

"You want to learn from me? If you're talking about my fire bending, then you can forget it. That's a family thing. Only Azula-hime and I can learn it."

Sasuke nodded. "That isn't necessarily what I meant, but yes I had hoped I could learn those fire techniques. But it they're family techniques then I won't pry. As someone who comes from a clan, I know how important family jutsu are."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Then if not that, then what did you mean?" he asked.

"I thought maybe we could spar, and train together sometime. Even if you can't teach me any jutsu I can improve my own skills by fighting against you. The same goes for you. We're both strong and by training with each other we can only become stronger."

Naruto thought about that. It made sense, after all he had gotten quite a bit stronger by training with Azula, maybe Sasuke could help him too. He also noticed that Sasuke didn't seem afraid of him like the other children had been. In fact if he was telling the truth, his fight against Mizuki had prompted the Uchiha to reach out to him. Could he be someone else who would accept him, like Azula had? Could he gain another friend? He was brought out of his thoughts when the bell rang.

Sasuke stood up and looked down at him. "Looks like lunch is over. You don't have to answer me now, but give it some thought. It would help us both in the long run."

Naruto watched the Uchiha walk towards the academy and stood up himself. He noticed with a little irritation that he hadn't eaten any of his lunch, because he had been so busy thinking about what the Uchiha had said. Sighing, he headed back to class, knowing he would have to resign himself to being hungry and bored for the rest of the day, rather than just bored.

* * *

Azula entered the Hokage's office for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. She wondered what the old leader wanted this time. She guessed that she would find out soon enough though.

"You called for me Hokage-sama?" she asked as she entered the room. She noticed that the two of them were not alone. Standing in front of the Hokage's desk was a tall man, wearing a green vest over a blue suit. She also saw that he wore a mask over the lower half of his face and one of his eyes. He also had spikey silver hair.

"Ahh Azula, come in. Yes I did call for you." the Hokage said. "We have several matters to discuss."

"And what would those be?" She asked, wondering if he was going to bring up the incident with Mizuki again.

"I have three things I would like to talk to you about, two of them involving Naruto. Don't worry it's not about what happened yesterday. While I'm not happy about what happened, I know that whats done is done, and punishing you won't change it. That said, please try to prevent such things in the future. I still want to talk to Naruto myself about what happened but that can wait for a while."

"I see." The girl said. "Then what is it you wished to discuss?"

"Well first off, I'd like you to meet Hatake Kakashi, the jounin in charge of leading the ninjutsu experiments regarding getting you home. I thought you might want to know a little about what were doing and how we are doing it."

"Yo." The silver haired man said, raising a hand in greeting.

Annoyed that the man gave her such an aloof greeting, Azula neglected to give a bow to the man and simply said. "Nice to meet you Hatake-san. Can you tell me what progress you have made so far and if you have an estimated time frame to get me home?"

The man put a hand up to his chin. "We haven't made much progress as all yet, were still working on studying other jutsu that involve or may involve inter dimensional travel. As for a time frame, I have absolutely no idea. Could be months, could be years, maybe even decades."

Azula was momentarily stunned. Decades? It could take decades for her to get home? She had expected it take a long time, after all the Lost Prince had never made it back, but she assumed that he hadn't had the same resources to help him like this village did. After all he had only been taken in by one clan, hardly a match for the resources and knowledge a settlement like Konoha would have. Of course Azula knew that even with all those resources it might take a long time, even years, but she never assumed it could take a decade or more.

"Why?" she asked, finally finding her voice. "Why would it take so long?"

"Well there is a lot that goes into it" Kakashi said. "Creating jutsu is dangerous at the best of times, even when were not trying to bend space and time or make a door between dimensions. We have to find a way to mold our chakra into doing such a thing first. Then we would have to find a safe way to make sure we were actually connecting to another dimension. Even then we would have to confirm it was the right dimension, after that we would have to make sure the way stable and wouldn't collapse on you. We would also have to make sure we were opening the portal in a safe area, wouldn't want you to be stuck on the bottom of the ocean, dropped form a thousand feet in the sky, or be crushed under a mountain now would we?"

Azula sighed. She hadn't thought about things like that before. If all that went into the process, then she really could be here for decades. If that was the case she might as well just stay here and make a life here. No. She wouldn't think like that. She couldn't think like that. She was the Princess of the Fire Nation. She was the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai. She was born to be a ruler. She would return home, she would become Fire Lord, and she would conquer her world. She would do this, even if it took a thousand years.

"No." She said. "No, we wouldn't want that at all. Thank you for explaining the process to me, Hatake-san. I will try to be patient from now on."

"Your welcome. But remember, I'm just the leader of ninjutsu team. There's a fuuinjutsu team working on a way to get you home as well. I suspect they will have more luck than my team."

"I see." Azula said. Turning back to the Hokage she asked "What are the other things you wished to discuss Hokage-sama? You said they involved Naruto."

The aged shinobi breathed out a stream of smoke from his pipe before replying. "Yes. I'm almost certain that Naruto hasn't told you yet, but his birthday is this week."

Azula blinked. Naruto's birthday was this week? That was something she didn't know, but why did the Hokage need to talk to her about that?

That's when she remembered that the demon that had attacked Konoha, the same one sealed away within the young boy, had attacked the night he was born. So it wasn't just his birthday, it was the anniversary of the demon's attack.

"I see you recognize the significance of that." The Hokage said. "Good. Every year we hold the Kyuubi Festival, to celebrate the demon's defeat and honor those we lost. It is a time of revelry and mourning, so many will people will be partying and drinking. They will also hold the hatred and sorrow of that night in the forefront of their minds."

Azula saw where this was going. "You're worried that some of the villagers may try to attack Naruto." she said. When the Hokage gave a nod she asked "Has he ever been attacked before?"

"Twice before." The Hokage said. "Both times happened within a year of his birth. I had the perpetrators executed and announced that anyone else to attempted to harm the boy would suffer the same fate. Since then the villagers have ignored the boy, treated him like he doesn't exist or have ridiculed him, but no one has tried to harm him. This year may be different, however, because of his fight with Mizuki. Until now the boy has been thought of as a failure by many, they didn't see him as a threat. Now he has come close to killing a chunin while still in the academy, this has raised fear and suspicion in the minds of many. That fear mixed with alcohol and excitement could possibly lead some of the more foolish people in the village to start something. It's part of the reason I was so angry with what happened yesterday."

Azula narrowed her eyes in thought. She knew that alcohol and large groups of people led to poor decisions, mix in a little fear and grief and you have a recipe for violent stupidity. "I will be ready to defend him at a moments notice. I won't let any harm come to him, you have my word on that."

"I'm glad." The Hokage said. "Truthfully I suspect that the chance of anything happening is low, but it is still higher than it has been in a long time. I hope I won't have to remind anyone of the law the hard way, but I will if necessary. That said, if you can avoid any trouble it would be vastly helpful."

"Of course Hokage-sama I will do my best. Now what is the other matter you wished to discuss regarding Naruto?"

Azula couldn't be sure, but for a moment she thought she saw a smirk of pure vengeful glee cross the Hokage's face. Of course by the time she registered what she thought she saw the old man's face was blank.

"Well as I mentioned, Naruto will be turning eleven this week." The Hokage said. "I have been observing Naruto for some time now, and I have noticed that he is beginning to show an interest in girls. Now this isn't unexpected, many children display interest in the opposite gender around this age, often declaring themselves to be boyfriend and girlfriend or pretending to marry each other. It's all fun most of the time and they hold no physical attraction to each other for the most part. But Naruto is an Uzumaki. The Uzumaki are known for longevity and a having boundless energy. This extra 'life force' causes several changes in the Uzumaki, for example they mature faster."

Azula wasn't sure why but she had a sinking feeling in her stomach all of a sudden. Something in the the Hokage's voice held a sense of mirth, and she could see that despite his wearing a mask, Kakashi seemed to be smiling. "Meaning what?" She asked.

"Meaning that Naruto is going through the beginning stages of puberty, despite his relatively young age. So it is up to you as his closest relative and legal guardian to give him 'The Talk'."

When Azula heard this sentence she did something rather un-Azula like. She blushed. It wasn't a large blush, but it was definitely noticeable. What was more noticeable was the slight stutter in her voice when she spoke next.

"W-what do you mean I have to give him 'The Talk'?" She asked. She had known that the topic of sex would have to brought up eventually, much of he plan involved future sexual interactions between herself and Naruto, but she had in all her calculating forgotten that he didn't even know what sex was yet. She remembered her own 'talk' that her mother had given her. It was one of the most awkward and embarrassing moments in her life. Her mother had given her the talk when she was only ten, shortly before she left the palace. The only comfort that Azula had from the memory was the knowledge that her mother had been equally embarrassed. Now she had to give the same 'talk' to Naruto?

"I mean you have to explain sexual intercourse to Naruto." the Hokage said, his eyes sparkling with mischievous glee, clearly enjoying the girl's flustered state. "It can't be that hard to explain I'm sure, unless of course you don't know how it's done."

Azula face grew a little more red. "Of course I know how. I-I just don't know how I'm supposed to explain this!"

It was at this moment that Kakashi spoke up. "I believe this might help." He said, pulling out a little orange book. He opened the book, flipping through a few pages before handing it to Azula. "Here, just have him read this. That will solve the problem."

Azula blinked. A book would help? How? Azula looked at the page the book had been opened to and started reading. She read the first sentence, then the second, then the third, then Kakashi's book went up in blue flames and turned to ash.

The masked man gave a cry and fell to his knees, reaching down cup the pile of ash that now lay on the floor of the Hokage's office. "Why?" He cried. "Why would you burn such a wonderful work of art! You are evil! Pure evil!"

Ignoring the man, Azula took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. Looking back at the Hokage she said. "Okay. I can give Naruto 'The Talk', but does it really have to be so soon?"

"The sooner the better." The old shinobi said. "Oh and please don't go into too much detail, I don't want to traumatize the boy."

"Believe me," said Azula "you don't have to worry about that. Now if that is all may I take my leave, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes you may go." The elder man said. Azula gave a slight bow to the man and then hurried out of the office as fast as possible, leaving a chuckling Hokage and a still sobbing Kakashi behind her.

* * *

Naruto sighed in relief when class was released for the day. It had been the worst day he had in a long time. True to expectations, many of his class mates now looked at him with fear in their eyes and avoided him. A few of the students, like Kiba, had come up to him and told him they thought his fire bending was cool and asked if they could learn it, and they all left disappointed when he told them that they could not. Otherwise Sasuke had been the only person to actually try to talk to him. He'd even answered a question wrong on purpose, given the most ridiculous answer he could think of, to get a smile or a chuckle out of someone in the class. No one had laughed. Azula's words had proven true, power makes fear. Naruto knew that he would always be feared by his classmates now, and there was likely nothing he could do to change that. Still Sasuke had shown that power earned respect as well, once again proving Azula right. The boy was now trying to reach out to Naruto, offering to train with him and talk to him.

Naruto thought about the Uchiha's offer. If he was able to train with the top student in class his grades and strength would undoubtedly improve even further. He could combine that training with his training from Azula and grow even stronger, that would impress the girl, he thought. Maybe he could get Sasuke to help him find a way to teach Azula how to use chakra as well. He wouldn't Sasuke that's what they were doing, but he figured if he brought it up in a round about way, he could discover a way to teach Azula the basics. And if everything went well, he could end up having another friend. A new friend that wouldn't be afraid of him. That would be awesome. He couldn't wait to tell Azula about this, he bet she would be thrilled to learn he was close to making a new friend. With that thought in mind the young boy rushed out of the academy grounds and through the village towards the apartment he shared with the Fire Nation Princess.

* * *

**Alright done with chapter four. I realize that not a lot happened in this chapter but its a bridge for the next two chapters. You will have lots to look forward to next time as well! Naruto and Sasuke will begin training, Sasuke will meet Azula. Azula will begin to learn how to use chakra, She will also meet another member of Naruto's class. Naruto will also have far more interaction with his fellow shinobi in training next time as well. Also his birthday will happen.**

**Also on a side note please understand that just because Naruto will be entering puberty soon does NOT mean he and Azula will be having sex anytime in the next few chapters. their relationship will develop eventually but it won't be anything physical until he is well into his teens. I say this because I know some of you were thinking it. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! (and so does santa.) **

**As always. please review, and let me know what you think and what I can do to improve. Thanks!**


	5. Chapter Four and a half

**I apologize for the late post. I meant to have the new chapter up about a week ago, but this latest class I have been taking has been really hectic. That being said I will have Chapter five up in a week or less. Also to make up for how long it has been between updates I have posted this short chapter to (hopefully) hold you all over until chapter five is up. Please keep in mind that this is just a short chapter purely for entertainments sake and doesn't actually pertain to the plot of the story, but it does involve the characters of the story. In other words it is an Omake. As such I will not be addressing questions about last chapter or previous chapter in this one, but will do so in the next chapter. As always I do not own Naruto or Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

** Any way, please enjoy this Omake.**

* * *

**Spiraling Flames Extra:**

**Naruto's Nightmare**

Naruto walked into the academy, ignoring the looks he got form everyone he passed. He made his way through the halls until he reached the door of his classroom. Sliding the door open he noticed that the room was completely empty except for one person. Standing at the front of the room was a man with silver hair and wearing the standard chunin outfit of blue suit and a green vest.

Upon seeing the man Naruto's face lit up in a smile. "Mizuki-sensei!" he called out happily. "I'm so happy that your okay!" The boy's face fell a little after he said that. "I'm really sorry about what happened during the sparring match, Mizuki-sensei. I never meant to hurt you, please don't hate me, please forgive me!" He said bowing to the teacher. He felt a hand rest on the top of his head. He looked up to see the chunin instructor smiling down at him.

"Of course I'll forgive you Naruto. You are my student after all and I know it just an accident. But I expect you to make up for your mistake." The silver haired man said

"I promise I will." Naruto shouted. "I'll do anything to make it up for it."

Mizuki's smile grew as Naruto said those words. "Good. Then to make amends, your going to have to take this test." He said, handing Naruto three pieces of paper.

Naruto looked down at the papers and saw that they each had questions on the front and back, he also noticed that the questions looked to be extremely hard.

"Now Naruto go sit down and do the test. I'm going to head out, but I want you to make sure you answer each question. You aren't allowed to go home until you finish it." Once he said that, the silver haired man left the room.

Naruto sat down at one of the desks and began to answer the questions. It took him the better part of an hour, but he finally managed to complete all the questions. He was about to turn the test in when he noticed that he had left one paper undone. He could have sworn that he had done all the questions, but never the less he grabbed the paper and completed it. Sighing at having finished it he looked back up and saw two more blank papers.

Okay. That was just weird. He grabbed the papers a little more hesitantly and powered through them. Once he was done with them he picked up the stack of papers and dropped them onto the desk at the front of the room. He began to walk towards the door when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Turning to face whatever it was he saw a large stack of papers sitting on one of the desks.

He walked over to the papers and picked one up. He saw, to his horror that it was a continuation of the test. Suddenly he heard the sound of papers landing on wood and turned to see that stacks of paper were falling out of nowhere and landing all over the room.

"What is going on?" Naruto asked himself. "How are all these test papers appearing? Is this some kind of jutsu?"

"Yes it is." a dark voice said.

Naruto looked all around for the source of the voice but couldn't see anything.

"I'm right here" the voice said, drawing his attention the the piece of paper in his hand. He watched in confusion as the ink from the question on the page began to gather and form a face on the paper. "This is indeed a jutsu." the paper face said. "Your sensei in order to get revenge on you, used a forbidden jutsu to summon us from another world. But he underestimated just how powerful we truly were and now we will use our power to over run your village and then conquer this world."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah right. How could pieces of paper conquer anything?"

The paper let out a hoarse raspy laugh. "Just look for yourself. Look out the window."

Naruto walked to one of the windows in the classroom and saw that papers were falling from the sky by the hundreds and were landing on people, crushing them under their weight.

"Oh no!" Naruto yelled and ran out of the classroom and quickly made it to the exit of the academy. As he stepped out of the building he saw the Hokage walking towards him, he also saw a large group of papers about to fall on the aged leader.

"Jiji watch out!" Naruto yelled. But it was too late. The papers hit the old man and buried him completely.

"NO!" Naruto cried. He had to get help and fast. He quickly ran through the streets and as he did so he saw people being swallowed up and crushed by the falling papers everywhere around him. He made it to the Ichiraku ramen stand in time to see Teuchi and Ayame cry out for help as they to were engulfed in the stacks of paper. "Not them too!" Naruto cried out.

"Naruto whats going on?" asked a voice next to him. He turned to see Azula standing next to him, looking confused.

"Azula-hime!" The boy cried, happy to see the dark haired girl alright. "Were under attack from weird paper monsters from another world."

The older girl frowned at this statement "I see. We will have to show them our power then won't we. Come with me Naruto, we will begin a counter attack." She said. As she turned to go, however, a giant hand made of paper appeared and pulled her into an enormous pile of the things, bigger than any other stack that had appeared so far.

Naruto's eyes widened in horror. "NOO!" he screamed and fell to knees, overcome by despair as the person he had come to care the most for perished before his very eyes.

The paper in his hand laughed once more. "All your friends are dead, and even your Hokage is gone now, boy. You should just resign yourself to your own death."

Naruto's hands began shaking, as uncontrollable rage overtook him. "No."

"What?" the paper asked.

"I said no. I'm not letting you get away with this. I'm going to stop you and avenge everyone."

"You? Revenge? Ha! Your just an academy student, who are you to think you can get revenge on us?"

Naruto felt his body heat grow as he summoned fire from deep within him, bending the flames to will and calling them forth into the palm of his hands, causing the demon paper to begin shrieking with pain.

"Who am I? I am fire, I am death! Now burn away with the rest of your kind!" With that statement Naruto sent fire into a stack of papers to his left, and then another at his right. He made his way through the streets of Konoha walking at a slow, deliberate pace, making sure to burn every single paper he came across. He continued like this until he came to the Hokage Tower. Once he reached the tower he made his way to it's roof and summoned a ball of fire bigger than any he ever had. He then threw it down at the village below him. Naruto knew that this act would destroy the village and himself, but it would also wipe out all the demon papers and prevent them from reaching the rest of the world. He braced himself for the burning shock wave that would come from his blast, waiting to join his friends in death.

Naruto jolted awake, breathing heavily. He sat there for a few moments catching his breath, before looking around. He was in his room. He was in his bed, Azula was next to him, still sound asleep although she shifted in her sleep to adjust her grip on the boy's arm.

Naruto sighed in relief. "It was just a dream. That was the weirdest nightmare I have ever had. This is what happens when I don't have ramen before bed. I am never skipping out on night ramen again...ever."

With that said, he lay back down and snuggled into Azula. "Beings from another world coming to this one. What a silly idea...like that could ever happen." He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep once more.

**There you go. I hope this was at least entertaining for you. As I said this was just a peace offering for being late on my update. I have the actual chapter five about a quarter of the way finished right now, and should have it posted within a weeks time. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Alright! It took about two days longer than I wanted it too, but I got chapter five up. Now answer time:**

**First off let me say that I think it is adorable that some of you assume that Azula's plan is going to go off without a hitch and that she is going to instantly turn Naruto into Ozai the second. Let me assure you right now that it is not going to happen. Yes she is going to change Naruto, but he is going to change her right back. Right now it's far easier to see the changes made in Naruto because of who he is. A ten year old who has been starved for attention for all of his life and will go to almost any lengths to get recognition from others. This makes him incredibly malleable. In contrast Azula has been set in her ways for quite some time now and is a master manipulator. This means that Naruto's changes are going to be happening faster and be far more obvious. That being said Azula will be showing signs of change in this chapter. **

**Secondly several of you have brought up the question of why Naruto hasn't mentioned wanting to be Hokage. There is a reason why I haven't brought that up just yet. In the beginning of the series Naruto's desire to be Hokage stemmed from his longing to be acknowledged. In other words he figured that if he became Hokage, the biggest, baddest guy in the village, everyone would love him. More importantly they would acknowledge him as a person rather than ignoring him all the time. His whole 'I will be Hokage and protect my precious people' ideal didn't come about until after he met Haku during the wave mission. Until he met Haku, it was purely selfish desire. Because in this story he now has Azula who has not only acknowledged him, but shown him affection and kindness and has offered more emotional support and help than he is used too, not too mention that she is a distant relation, he likely would put his Hokage speal on the back burner unless something brings it to the front of his mind again. DON'T WORRY! HE WILL STILL WANT TO BE HOKAGE! I want you all to know that. It just won't be of any true significance until he meets Haku.**

**And final answer for this chapter. ahem. To answer the most often asked question I have received. YES AZULA AND NARUTO WILL MAKE IT BACK TO THE AVATAR WORLD. It won't be for a long LONG time though. And no I will not let any details about that leak out if I can help it. I will leave you with this little tidbit for thought. Azula vanished during the battle of Ba Sing Se, that means that there was no one to vouch for Zuko with the Fire Lord, which means he MIGHT not have been 'accepted' back to the Fire Nation. Think of all the changes THAT makes by it self.**

**On with the story! I do not own Naruto or Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is just a work of fan fiction and I make no money off of it.**

**Spiraling Flames Chapter Five**

* * *

Azula paced up and down the living room of the apartment, her eyes to the floor in front of her. Her mind was currently occupied by a daunting and seemingly insurmountable problem, namely the prospect of teaching Naruto Uzumaki about sex. The dark haired girl knew that she would have to teach him about the act of reproduction sooner or later of course, it was after all, essential to her plan. Essential or not, however, it was still a thoroughly embarrassing subject to talk about.

Every part of her mind was currently trying to either find a suitable way to explain the process of sex to the boy, or trying to find a way to successfully postpone the conversation. If she could, the girl would prefer to let the subject go until the boy was much older and then teach him about it only when it became a required step in their relationship. Any chance of that happening was destroyed when the Hokage ordered her to give the boy the talk though. Azula's eye twitched as she thought of the old man's smug look when he had given that order. She briefly entertained thoughts of how that smirk of his would look if the shinobi leader spontaneously combusted into blue flames. Azula felt herself chuckle darkly at that thought.

Theoretical plots of revenge would have to wait, however, as she did in fact have to explain sex to the young blond that she shared the apartment with. Maybe she could give him the same story that Fire Nation parents had told their children for generations when faced with this same problem. She would sit Naruto down, look him in the eyes, and with all the seriousness she could muster, she would explain that their was a palace in the sky, hidden by the clouds. Within this palace were all the babies in the world, and when a young couple were married, a great dragon would find the correct baby for the couple and bring it to them.

Azula nodded to herself. Yes, that would work. Then she would swear Naruto to secrecy about the subject and tell the Hokage that she had accomplished her task. She could then avoid the whole issue until she was well and truly ready for it.

Azula nodded to herself once more and said "Yes, that will work."

"What will work, Azula-hime?" Naruto asked, standing behind her.

Azula jumped about a foot off the ground and gave a yelp of surprise. She had been so involved in her own thoughts that she hadn't heard the blond boy walk into the apartment and up to her. Azula fought down the blush she felt trying to rise on her cheeks.

"Oh, it's nothing Naruto. How was your day at the academy?"

Azula watched the boy's face gain a pensive look. "It was alright I guess. Most of the kids in my class seemed to be afraid of me, but they didn't tease or make of me."

Azula nodded. That was exactly how she had expected things to be for the young boy.

"But I also think I may have found a friend!" Naruto said excitedly.

That statement made the older girl blink. "What?" she asked.

Naruto smiled happily. "Remember how you said that I would eventually find those who respected me for my power? Well I think I may have found one today!"

Azula's eyes narrowed. "Explain what happened please, Naruto." She said, her voice taking a calm tone.

Naruto launched into an explanation of his encounter with Sasuke, telling her what the boy had said and how he had wanted to train with Naruto. He also explained how Sasuke had treated him up until this point. By the end of Naruto's tale Azula was certain of one thing, Sasuke Uchiha could be trouble. Azula had made the mistake of assuming that all of the children Naruto's age would be afraid of him, she hadn't counted on someone like Uchiha being part of the equation.

When she had told Naruto that he would find those who would respect his power she had said it a way to console him, and had hoped to provide those people in the form of herself, her father and the Fire Nation as a whole. Yet, despite the odds, Naruto had managed to find such a person here in Konoha.

The more bonds that Naruto formed within Konoha, the harder it would be to convince him to leave with her. Of course Azula was under no delusions that she would be able to keep the boy from forming any bonds at all. When she first began to form this plan she had known that she and Naruto would possibly be in Konoha for some time before they were able to leave to her world. In fact her plan counted on the fact that she would have enough time to develop her own bond with the boy to a significant degree before they would have the opportunity to leave. In that same amount of time in was expected for the boy to develop bonds of some sort with at least a few others. In light of what she had learned from Kakashi about inter-dimensional jutsu and how long she might be here, it was simply impossible, inconceivable really, for him not to form bonds with others. Azula had hoped to be able to limit those bonds, and control them to some degree, however.

This is the reason why she was so worried about the Uchiha boy. According to Naruto the Uchiha was the top student in his class, and was extremely popular with other members of the class, despite his lack of social interaction. Many of the girls in Naruto's class apparently idolized the boy, and if they saw their idol interacting with Naruto, there was a chance that they would overcome their fear of Naruto and approach him, as the Uchiha had done. This meant that Naruto would potentially form even more bonds than he otherwise would, some of those bonds would possibly be formed with girls. Azula's entire plan involved Naruto bonding, and eventually loving her. She had to be the only girl who he loved, who loved him, who could love him. If he suddenly formed bonds with other girls, then her whole plan was in potential danger. What was worse she could do nothing to keep Naruto from befriending the Uchiha, not without raising red flags as to her intentions. If she forbid, or tried to keep Naruto form being the boy's friend, he would want to know why, and she had no good excuse to provide him with.

So she would have to let the two bond, even encourage it. She supposed she could monitor how their bond grew, if she too 'befriended' the Uchiha boy. Yes, that could work. If she was close to both of them, she could keep an eye on what people the Uchiha drew towards the two of them, specifically any girls. She would then be able to determine if the girls were getting close to Naruto in a romantic sense and if they were she would drive them off. Oh yes, she would do everything in her power to keep them from Naruto's heart. Spirits help the ones who threatened her plans, for unimaginable torment and pain would be rained down upon them.

"Umm Azula-hime, are you okay?" Naruto asked, worry and a slight amount of fear in his voice.

Azula blinked, being brought out of her thoughts. "Yes, everything is fine" she said. "Why do you ask?"

"Umm...well you have this really scary look on your face and your hands are covered in fire." He said pointing at her hands.

Azula looked down in surprise to see that she had balled her hands into fists and summoned blue fire around them. She quickly let the flames dissipate and blinked. That was odd, she didn't usually loose control of herself like that, was she truly that angry that her plan was in danger?

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something that made me a little upset. Anyway, I think you should agree to train with the Uchiha, it will help you grow in strength and having another ally can't hurt. I would like you to introduce him to me as well, I want to make sure he is being honest with you."

Naruto's face quickly gained a smile, at the fact that Azula seemed alright with him befriending Sasuke. "Okay!" he said. Continuing on his happy mood, he asked "So how did your day go Azula-hime?"

Azula's mind was once again brought back to her meeting with the Hokage and she fought down the slight blush that threatened to appear on her face. She looked down at the younger boy and thought about the task she had been given. While it would be easy, and tempting, to pass off the conversation or dodge it, it would not be helpful to anyone in the long run.

"My day was eventful, Naruto." Azula said. This earned an inquisitive look from the boy but he remained quiet and waited for her to continue.

"You see, I was called to meet with the Hokage today, he wished to speak to me about several matters, two of which involve you."

Naruto blinked. "Me?"

"Yes you. One of the topics was a task that I am to perform as your acting guardian." Azula said. "Tell me Naruto, do you know where babies come from?" She asked, hoping that maybe, just maybe he already knew.

The younger boy's eyes squinted in concentration, as if trying to remember the answer to a question on a test Finally after what seemed like hours, but was really only moments, Naruto looked up at the girl and said "Nope."

Azula felt that small ray of hope she had been holding on too vanish. "I see." She said. "Well then lets go sit down and I will tell you where babies come from." She led him over to the kitchen table where they both took a seat across from each other, with Naruto looking at her attentively.

Azula looked at the young boy, and took a deep breath and prepared for the plunge into what would, undoubtedly be, one of the most awkward conversations she had ever had.

"You see Naruto, when boys and girls reach a certain age they begin to change."

"Change?" He asked. "Like they look different?"

"In some ways, perhaps." she said. "Now please refrain from asking any questions, until I am done with the explanation."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgment, and Azula continued her talk.

* * *

It took over half an hour to get the entire explanation of what changes happen to boys and girls, and then another half hour to inform the boy why they were relevant to where babies came from. Naruto's expression through the hour had gone through several phases. First he had shown looks of attentiveness and thoughtfulness. Those had evolved into looks of disbelief and then slight horror when she had explained the concept of a period to him. Finally his face became a mask of red when she began to explain sex to him. By the end of the hour long talk the both of then were sitting rather quietly across from each other, in various states of embarrassment.

The moment of silence was broken when when Naruto raised his hand, as if her were in a classroom. "Umm Azula-hime...I have a question."

"What is that, Naruto?" The princess asked.

"So when you mentioned that we might get, um, married...does that mean that we will be doing that?" He asked, in a quiet, and rather shy voice.

Suddenly Azula found herself experiencing something completely new to her. She saw, in her mind, an older version of herself, laying on her bed in her room in the fire nation palace, next to an older Naruto. Azula had never taken the time the really think about what the blond would look like when he reached his late teens, she knew that he would likely be attractive, but she hadn't ever thought about the details of what that attractiveness would be like. Her subconscious apparently had, however, because the man in vision was in one word, gorgeous. He was decidedly taller than her, had messy golden hair, that was long enough to reach his jaw line and had deep soul piercing blue eyes. His body was that of a bender who practiced regularly, that is to say, well toned and muscular, but not bulgy or disgustingly big. He had slightly darker skin than the Naruto she knew, showing that he spent a lot of time in the sun, and it made the whisker marks on his cheeks standout in a very interesting ways.

She watched the scene in her vision unfold, as the older Naruto, gently pushed her older self's hands above head using one hand, and moved his other to steady himself as he leaned in towards her face. Just as his lips were about to reach her's, Azula managed to wrench herself from the vision and reality came crashing back to her. She felt her face burning all the way up to her ears, and knew that she was sporting a heavy blush.

She looked around and noticed Naruto staring at her with an expression that was half questioning and half nervous. Azula figured that he was probably waiting for an answer to the question that had summoned the vision she had briefly experienced. She cleared her throat softly before answering him.

"Well, yes, Naruto. We would eventually do that." she said, avoiding the word 'sex' and using 'that', instead. "We would be expected to produce an heir, and as such we would need to do that. It is also an act that, I have been told, can strengthen the bond between two people who love each other." That was how her mother had put it anyway.

"I-I see." The boy said, looking away slightly.

Azula could swear she saw steam coming out the blond's ears. "Well, in any case we have other issues to discuss as well." She said.

"Like what?" Naruto asked quickly, happy to get away from the previous subject.

"Well for example the fact you have a birthday coming up." The girl answered.

At the mention of his birthday Naruto gained a rather forlorn look. His birthdays had never really been fun, or even really resembled birthdays. To him they were just another day where people ignored him or scorned him. Truthfully he preferred the scorn, at least then people acknowledged that he was there, that he existed. Many people ignored him all the time, but it was especially painful on his birthday. To have your very existence be disregarded, to be treated as if her wasn't there, was never there, on the day when his existence was supposed to be celebrated was something that truly left deep wounds on the child's mind.

Azula watched Naruto carefully, gauging his reaction. After a few moments she decided on how best to handle the situation. She drew in her breath and put her best scowl on her face before saying, "Well to tell the truth I'm rather angry that you didn't tell me about it before."

That got the boy's attention. He looked at her as if he had just been smacked. "What? Why are you angry Azula-hime?" he asked, worried he had done something to jeopardize his relationship with the dark haired girl.

Azula leaned back in her chair, folded her arms and closed her eyes. She sat there a moment, giving off her best 'I'm mad at you' aura before speaking. "Well, where I come from, it is a custom to celebrate the birthdays of those who are close to someone. I understand that such a tradition is also held here in Konoha. How am I supposed to celebrate your birthday if you don't tell me about it?" she asked.

Naruto was stunned. "Wait, you're mad at me...because you didn't know I had a birthday coming up and that meant you couldn't celebrate it?"

The princess opened one eye and looked at him. "That is what I said, yes." she stated.

When Naruto heard this he hopped out of his chair, calmly walked around to table to Azula, and gave her a hug. It wasn't a desperate hug, like the one he had given her after his fight with Mizuki, but a warm and soft hug, one that was full of meaning and emotion. It was an embrace that showed all of his heart to the older girl.

"Thank you, Azula-hime." He said quietly.

"You don't need to thank me." She answered. "Like I said, it's a custom, something expected, everyone does it for those who are close to them."

"Still, thank you." Naruto said. "Only Hokage-jiji, Iruka-sensei, and the Ichirakus have ever really celebrated my birthday. Now I have someone else who wants to do it too, it means a lot to me."

Azula was genuinely surprised by his words. On the surface it was just a simple thank you, but there was also something deeper about it. She sensed a maturity in the words, that she had not seen in the boy before. It was too expected she guessed, one did not live the life Naruto lived without growing up at least a little faster than other children. Even knowing that the intensity of the words struck something inside her, bringing forth a...feeling of some sort. It was an alien emotion, something she could not readily identify and she wasn't at all sure that she liked it. So rather than dwell on it she changed the subject.

"Alright, that is enough of that. It is time to begin afternoon training. Also, I believe that we agreed that you would begin teaching me how to use chakra today as well." Azula said.

Naruto let go of his embrace on the older girl and nodded. "Right. I'm still not sure how much help I will be, but I'll try to get you the basics, Azula-hime."

* * *

It only took a few minutes for the two to reach the training ground down the street from where the lived. The small area had quickly become they place where two spent the majority of their time together. It was also one of the places where to two were most often able to be alone. Azula was not sure if this was because the Hokage had ordered the other shinobi to avoid them while training, or if people simply avoided them due to Naruto's status as a pariah. For all she knew it was simply an area that was overlooked for better, more suitable, training areas. No matter what the reason was, it allowed the two of them to train and talk in a comfortable area that offered a small modicum of privacy.

This time, the situation was a little different from normal, however, as instead of Azula giving Naruto explanations and training exercises, it was she who was doing the listening. She stood in front of the young boy, paying close attention to what he was saying.

So far he had explained to her that chakra was the mix of spiritual and physical energy that the body naturally produced. He also explained that not a persons ability to use chakra was dependent on the size and state of the their chakra coils. He went on to say, that they would likely have to build her chakra coils up quite a bit before she could even think of using her chakra in jutsu.

"Alright, Azula-hime, put your hands together in the ram seal, like this and focus on your internal energy." Naruto said, demonstrating the ram seal for the dark haired girl as he did so.

Azula did as he instructed and reached inside her mind to try and draw out the chakra in her body.

"Well, do you feel anything?" Naruto asked after a few moments.

Azula hesitated, taking a moment to think, before answering. "I think so. I'm not sure if it's my chakra, but I feel a slight stirring sensation, as if a gently flowing...thing is moving inside my body around my stomach."

Naruto nodded. "That sounds like chakra alright. Try to draw upon it, if you do that it should feel like your connection to it is getting stronger and you should be able to pull it up into your chest area."

Azula concentrated on the feeling in her stomach, but no matter how she focused she couldn't make the chakra respond to her wishes. After a few minutes of trying she sighed and let her hands fall to her sides and looked at the younger boy, waiting for her next instructions.

Naruto saw Azula's actions and recognized that she hadn't been able to fully draw on her chakra.

"Don't worry Azula-hime, lots of people have problems with it at first. I remember a bunch of my classmates took weeks to really get the hang of it. Some of them couldn't even feel their chakra the first few times they tried."

Azula nodded in acknowledgment. That did make her feel a bit better about the whole thing. She was a prodigy in fire bending and had always excelled with little to no effort, so the idea that she hadn't been able to do so in this situation was a little disconcerting.

"I will try to keep that in mind, Naruto." She said. "Now before I continue trying to access my chakra, we are going to work on your training. So far I have been quite pleased with your progress in your bending. You really do have a natural gift for it, but that doesn't mean you can be lax in training. That is why I will begin instructing you in the more defensive forms of fire bending."

Naruto blinked a little at that, he had thought that fire bending didn't really have defensive moves, unless dodging counted.

Azula saw his confused expression and a small smile appeared on her face. Most people failed to realize that fire bending did have defensive techniques. They were few and far between, but they were there.

"Alright, I will demonstrate the first move for you." She told him. "I want you to send an attack at me."

Naruto nodded and got into his bending stance. He took a deep breath and shot a strong, fast punch towards Azula. As he did so, a stream of bright orange fire shot out from his fist and headed for the dark haired girl. As the blast approached her, Azula brought her arms together in a circling motion, just as the fire reached her.

Naruto watched in excitement as he a short burst of flame erupt from Azula's own arms before she continued the circling arc her arms had been moving in, and as her arms finished the tight circle the blast of fire he had launched at her vanished.

"That was so cool, Azula-hime!" He shouted. "You blocked my fire, with fire of your own! Are there any other defensive moves I can learn? Oh, is there a way to take my opponents fire and send it back at them?"

Azula shook her head in answer to his question. "No, Naruto, that isn't possible. As fire benders, we use our own power to block that of others, we do not redirect attacks back at our opponents. That is something only water benders can do. Of course, that doesn't mean that we are limited to only blocking fire, with enough strength behind it, that move I just performed can even shatter boulders before they reach me."

The ten year old frowned a bit when he heard that he wouldn't be able to steal fire from his opponents attacks and send it back at them. Still he could see how this circular motion for blocking could be used to great advantage. It easily allowed the user to stop incoming attacks head on and left the user in position to launch a strong counter attack immediately. When he saw Azula perform the block, he counted at least four counter attacks that she could employ off the top of his head.

For two of them stayed in the training ground until the sun set, each working on their prospective exercises. By the end of the training session Naruto had the circular block consigned to muscle memory and Azula informed him that the two would begin to use it in spars in their next training session. Naruto had once again proven that he did indeed have a natural talent for fire bending. By contrast Azula had managed to make no progress in her chakra exercises at all, something she found rather infuriating. That anger did not deter her from seeking to learn how manipulate her chakra, however, and Naruto assured her that she was still doing far better than many people did when they first began.

On another note, Azula was happy to see that her efforts in persuading Naruto to pay attention in his classes since she arrived had born fruit. In fact if it were not for her encouragement, she suspected that he would never have known all that he did about the chakra network and how it worked. That would have made learning how to use this new power far more frustrating than it already was. Still, it was a noticeable change from how he had behaved when she first met the boy, and the thought she had already had such an effect on him brought a smile to the girls lips as the two walked back their apartment.

* * *

Naruto arrived early to the academy the next day. He was earlier than he had been in his entire time attending the shinobi school in fact. He didn't do this on a whim, however, he had a purpose. He knew that Sasuke usually arrived early, and he wanted to have a chance to speak to the Uchiha before class began.

He wasn't disappointed when he walked into the classroom, quickly spotting the dark haired boy sitting by one of the windows. Naruto walked over to where Sasuke was and took the seat next to him. The two sat there in silence for a few moments before Naruto spoke.

"I thought about your offer yesterday. I think your right, it would be good to train with someone my age, and besides we might become really good friends." He said, in an optimistic tone.

Sasuke looked over at the blond and gave him a smirk. "I knew you would agree. It just makes too much sense for us not to train together."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Also Azula-hime wants to meet you."

That got Sasuke curious. Why would the girl, this other Uzumaki that was supposedly a princess from another land want to meet him? Was it because he had offered to train with Naruto, and possibly become his friend and ally, or was there some other reason? In the end he guessed it didn't really matter, he had wanted to learn more about the girl and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

"Alright, I'm free this afternoon. We can begin training and you can take me to meet her then if you want." Sasuke said.

"Sounds good to me." was the only reply that Naruto gave, and the two returned to sitting next to each other in a comfortable silence.

As the minutes dragged on the classroom slowly filled with the other students that were in the class. Naruto noted that the other kids had gathered in small groups and had begun whispering, which actually made for a rather loud, and annoying, noise. They all seemed to be discussing him and Sasuke. It seemed that idea of the most talented and popular kid in their class suddenly sitting next to the class clown and village pariah was a little hard for some of them to understand.

As more students arrived more whispering ensued, and Naruto felt his eye begin to twitch in annoyance. Just as he was about to stand up and shout at his classmates to shut up, a girl broke off from one of the groups and walked over to where he and Sasuke sat. she was a plain looking girl with brown hair and no real distinguishing features, but Naruto recognized her as being part of Sasuke's so called fan club. The girl stood there for a moment looking nervous and a little scared, before looking at Sasuke and speaking.

"Um, Sasuke-kun...why are you sitting here?" She whispered.

Sasuke looked up at the girl with a bored, yet somehow demeaning expression on his face.

"This is where I have been sitting since the year began, why would I suddenly sit somewhere else?" He asked, his tone reflecting the same boredom that his face showed.

The girl looked even more nervous, and flicked her eyes towards Naruto briefly.

"Well, you know, HE is sitting there too." She whispered, bring her hand up to cup around her mouth, as if that would keep Naruto from hearing her.

Naruto himself, was torn between feeling hurt that she and everyone else were afraid of him, annoyed that she acting this way, or angry because she seemed to thing that he wouldn't be able hear her. Before he could react to all this, however, the girl began speaking again.

"It was horrible, what he did to Mizuki-sensei. My mom said he must be some kind of monster to do that to his own teacher." She said again, still whispering.

As soon as the words left her mouth Sasuke's bored expression turned into a a glare that made the girl recoil slightly. His next words were spoken in an angry tone, that was loud enough for the entire class to hear.

"You think he's a monster now? What a joke! I have seen what real monster looks like. I watched as a real monster killed everyone I ever loved, and after seeing that, I'm pretty sure that I know what a monster looks and acts like. I'll tell you right now that Naruto is no monster. So what if he accidentally hurt Mizuki-sensei? So what if he put him in the hospital for a few weeks? That doesn't make him a monster, it just makes him strong. You asked why I'm sitting next to him? It's because I would rather keep the company of someone who is strong and reliable than weakling like you that think one incident during a sparing match makes someone a monster."

As Sasuke finished his little speech the girl looked like she was about to cry. She quickly turned her face away from the dark haired boy and ran off to join the group she had been with before. The class was completely silent for all of five seconds before erupting into even more whispers.

Naruto looked over at the Uchiha with a stunned look on his face. He hadn't expected him to defend him like that. He was sure of one thing now, he and Sasuke would be great friends.

Before anything else could happen in the class Iruka walked into the room and told everyone to take their seats. Once everyone was in their spots, he began that morning's lesson, which turned out to another boring lecture.

* * *

After the lecture Iruka took every one outside and announced that they would begin taijutsu spars. He would call out the name of a student and ask that student to step into the small ring where the sparing match would be held. He would then ask if anyone wanted to volunteer to be their partner, if no one volunteered he would select someone to be the students partner on his own.

Iruka continued down the list, calling out names until he reached Naruto's name. As Naruto stepped into the ring, Iruka waited for someone to volunteer to spar against him.

The chunin liked Naruto a lot, and knew that he wasn't a bad kid. When he had first met the blond he had hated the boy, but as the years went by he had begun to see that he was just a lonely child. He had come to enjoy the boy's pranks and jokes and had begun to care for the boy. When the accident with Mizuki had happened he had worried that it would destroy what little peace Naruto's life had. It seemed his fears were right as he waited for someone to volunteer to spar against the blond.

Before one or two people would always step forward to spar against Naruto, if for no other reason than that they thought they could win against the dead last of the class. Now, however, it seemed that his spar with Mizuki had instilled too much fear in the other children.

Just as Iruka was about to call on someone to spar against Naruto, someone called out.

"I'll spar against him."

Sasuke Uchiha stepped into the ring with Naruto, earning a few gasps from the other kids.

* * *

Sasuke felt the urge to face palm. He had already proven that he wasn't afraid of Naruto, yet people still seemed surprised that he was willing to spar with him. The idiocy of the masses never ceased to impress him.

He heard Iruka call out for the two combatants to get ready, and he and Naruto got into their respective stances. Sasuke saw Naruto get into a stance that he had never seen before. He had been in his own spar when Naruto had been sparing against Mizuki so he hadn't gotten a good look at what Naruto had done, other than the fact that he had used a fire technique of some kind. Could this stance be part of a taijutsu form that allowed him to defeat Mizuki?

Sasuke hear Iruka call out for the two to begin and rushed at Naruto. Even if this was a new taijutsu form, there was no point in hanging back and letting Naruto get the first strike in. As he got closer to the blond he sent a punch at the boy's face. Naruto side stepped the attack and Sasuke saw him launch a kick at him out of the corner of his eye. He spun around and used his momentum to knock the kick away from him with his right arm, while at the same time bringing his left leg up to send his own kick at the Uzumaki. The kick struck the blond in the torso and he staggered back a bit, allowing Sasuke to take up his stance once again.

* * *

Naruto stared at the dark haired boy across form him. Sasuke was good, that was certain. Naruto had been using his fire bending with out summoning up his fire, making into his own taijutsu style. He had hoped that by using an unfamiliar style he could catch the Uchiha off guard and end the match with in the first few exchanges of blows. It was clear though that this would be far more difficult than he thought. They had only exchanged a few blows and already he could tell that the dark haired boy would be able adapt to his new style with ease. He would have to press the Uchiha hard if he wanted to win this.

So he rushed at Sasuke, much the same as the Uchiha had done to him only moments before. He sent a powerful punch at the dark haired boy's chest, which was blocked with ease. He followed the punch up with another aimed Sasuke's face, which was again blocked with ease. In defending his face, however, Sasuke had momentarily left his torso open to attack and Naruto sent a strong kick to the boys stomach. Sasuke let a grunt of pain and stumbled backwards, tripping as he did so. This ended with the Uchiha on his back, and Naruto saw an opening to finish the match and rushed forward.

As Naruto got close to Sasuke, however, he spun around on his back, swinging his legs around him and kicking Naruto's feet out from under him. As Naruto fell to the ground Sasuke rose to his feet, before all but tackling the blond. He placed his left arm on Naruto's chest just below the neck to keep him from getting up, and held his right hand back in a fist, ready to strike.

Before the spar could continue any further though, the two boys heard Iruka call the match with it ending in Sasuke's favor. As Sasuke stood up he offered a hand to Naruto, helping him up.

"I was right." Sasuke said. "You are strong. You almost beat me. If I hadn't caught you with that last kick I think you would have won."

As the two walked back to stand with the rest of the class Naruto heard even more whispers break out, but there was something different about the whispers this time. As they passed a group of girls he managed to catch a bit of their conversation.

"But Sasuke-kun seems to like him. So that means he can't be all bad. What if our parents are wrong?" one girl whispered.

"That's right." said another. "And he just proved he is strong. I heard Sasuke-kun say that he could have won if he hadn't gotten that last move in."

The first girl nodded. "Me too. Oh, and remember that girl that was with him the the other day? She said that she was related to him somehow, and the Hokage said she was a princess. Maybe that means that Naruto is a prince?"

Iruka called the class back inside before he could hear more of the conversation. The rest of the day proved to be rather boring, as Iruka had the class do more reading and listening to lectures, but the whispering kept up until class let out for the afternoon. Of course, Naruto also noticed that a few of girls in the class had begun sneaking small glances at him and had strange gleams in their eyes, that made him feel uncomfortable to say the least. He wasn't sure why though.

* * *

Once the class was released Naruto and Sasuke made their way out of the building and along the streets of Konoha, Naruto leading the way to the training ground where they were to meet Azula. Once they had gotten there he saw the the dark haired girl was already waiting for them.

"Azula-hime!" Naruto called out in greeting, as he walked up to the girl.

"Hello, Naruto." Azula said, once the boy reached her. "I assume this is the friend you told about yesterday." She motioned to Sasuke who was standing behind him

Naruto beamed. "Yep. This is Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke this is Azula-hime."

Sasuke stepped forward and bowed to the girl. "It's very nice to meet you." He said.

Azula gave her own slight bow and said. "It is nice to meet you as well."

Sasuke looked up at the taller girl for a moment before speaking again. "Naruto told me you wanted to meet me. Why?"

"I did, yes, but that conversation will have to wait for a little while. It seems we have an uninvited guest." As soon as Azula finished speaking she sent a short burst of blue fire at tree to the right of the small group. The tree didn't catch on fire, but it did make an 'Eeep' sound.

Naruto blinked. Since when did trees 'Eeep'? He got his answer when a small shape fell out of the tree and landed in the bushes, making an audible 'thump'.

The grouped walked over to where the figure had fallen and looked as a girl lay in the bushes, an expression of slight pain on her face. She was a small girl, with short blue hair in a hime style cut. She wore short tan pants and white coat, along with blue shinobi sandals.

Azula, who stood in the front of the group gave a positively menacing smirk. "Well, what have we here?" She asked as she stared down at one Hinata Hyuuga.

The small girl looked up at the Fire Nation princess and uttered a single sound.

"Eeep."

* * *

**Well there you have it, chapter five. I actually had to cut it's length about to about half of what I originally wanted, if I was going to make the deadline I gave my self for posting this. Never fear though, many things will happen in the next chapter. For example I WILL have Naruto's birthday the next chapter. You also get to see how Sasuke and Azula get along, you will see how Hinata reacts to Azula and how Azula reacts to Hinata. I have also finally decided on the genin team placements! You MAY get to see that next chapter. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as the others. As always please review and let me know what you think and what I can do to improve. **


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